Erste Asset Management GmbH Boosts Position in Westlake Corp. $WLK

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Westlake Corp. by 8.5%, owning 153,201 shares valued at approximately $15.3 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Westlake reported a loss of $0.09 per share in its latest quarterly earnings, missing expectations, along with a year-over-year revenue decline of 7.9%.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share, marking an increase from the previous $0.47, with a current dividend yield of 2.6%.

Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 8.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 153,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 12,000 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH owned 0.12% of Westlake worth $15,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,900,025 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $390,120,000 after purchasing an additional 586,178 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 732.7% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 993,150 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $113,865,000 after purchasing an additional 873,888 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 983,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $112,711,000 after purchasing an additional 58,093 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 934,122 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $107,092,000 after purchasing an additional 43,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 882,474 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $101,175,000 after purchasing an additional 47,732 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK traded up $7.7150 on Friday, hitting $90.4550. 2,312,260 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,390,508. Westlake Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $68.55 and a fifty-two week high of $153.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $80.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.09. The stock has a market cap of $11.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -170.67, a P/E/G ratio of 398.33 and a beta of 0.92.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.15). Westlake had a positive return on equity of 1.26% and a negative net margin of 0.57%.The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a boost from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is presently -400.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WLK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Westlake from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Westlake from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.29.

Westlake Profile

Westlake Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Performance and Essential Materials and Housing and Infrastructure Products.