Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Westlake Corporation $WLK

Key Points

• Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its stake in Westlake by 8.1%, acquiring 15,217 shares to own 204,226 shares worth about $15.1 million (0.16% of the company) at the end of the quarter.
• CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares at an average price of $100.92 for roughly $1.76 million, reducing his position by 28.15% to 44,433 shares.
• Westlake beat EPS estimates for the quarter (‑$0.25 vs. consensus ‑$1.47) but missed revenue and posted a negative net margin; Wall Street's consensus rating is a Hold with an average target price of $109.53 while the stock trades near $119.85.

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 204,226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,217 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned 0.16% of Westlake worth $15,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 180.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 740 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 49.6% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 745 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 58.1% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 778 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total value of $1,756,916.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 44,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,484,178.36. This trade represents a 28.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Westlake in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Westlake in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $129.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $109.53.

Westlake Price Performance

Westlake stock opened at $119.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $107.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.35 billion, a PE ratio of -10.24 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Westlake Corporation has a 12-month low of $56.33 and a 12-month high of $124.23.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $1.22. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 13.50% and a negative return on equity of 1.22%. The business's revenue was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.06 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Westlake Corporation will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -18.12%.

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corp. is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, polymers and building products, serving customers across industrial and residential markets. The company's core operations encompass the production of vinyls—primarily polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and its key feedstock vinyl chloride monomer (VCM)—as well as chlor-alkali products including caustic soda and chlorine. In addition, Westlake produces ethylene, propylene and specialty elastomers, along with construction-related materials such as vinyl siding, trim, windows and roofing systems.

Operating a network of vertically integrated plants and distribution centers, Westlake serves markets in North America, Europe and Asia.

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