First Trust Advisors LP Cuts Holdings in Westlake Corporation $WLK

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP cut its Westlake stake by 30.1% in the first quarter, selling 44,112 shares and retaining 102,299 shares valued at approximately $11.95 million.
• Westlake reported a weak quarter, with a $0.77 per-share loss versus the $0.10 expected loss and revenue of $2.65 billion, down 6.8% year over year. The stock was trading at $71.71, well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts maintained a generally cautious outlook, with a consensus “Hold” rating and $97.64 price target; Westlake also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, representing a 3.0% annualized yield.

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its holdings in Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 30.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,299 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 44,112 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.08% of Westlake worth $11,951,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WLK. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Westlake by 433.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 37,011 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,737,000 after acquiring an additional 30,072 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Westlake during the fourth quarter valued at about $14,062,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its stake in Westlake by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 204,226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $15,100,000 after acquiring an additional 15,217 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 53.6% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 50,715 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,750,000 after purchasing an additional 17,689 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter worth about $798,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Westlake Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE WLK opened at $71.71 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $79.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.39. Westlake Corporation has a 52 week low of $56.33 and a 52 week high of $124.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.65 and a beta of 0.62.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.67). The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 14.91% and a negative return on equity of 1.89%. Westlake's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.31) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Westlake Corporation will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is currently -16.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WLK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Westlake from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $97.64.

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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