Erste Asset Management GmbH Raises 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 raised its stake in Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 8.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 approximately 0.12% of Westlake worth $15,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 17.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in 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 worth $113,865,000 after acquiring an additional 873,888 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Westlake by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 983,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $112,711,000 after acquiring an additional 58,093 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Westlake by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 934,122 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $107,092,000 after acquiring an additional 43,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in 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 worth $101,175,000 after acquiring an additional 47,732 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK stock traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $86.70. 268,107 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,035,812. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.47. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $80.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.76. The stock has a market cap of $11.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -163.41, a PEG ratio of 398.32 and a beta of 0.92. Westlake Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $68.55 and a fifty-two week high of $151.56.

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

Westlake Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -400.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on WLK. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Westlake from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays reduced their price target on Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Westlake from $117.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Westlake from $130.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.29.

Westlake Company 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.