Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Has $104.15 Million Stock Position in Westlake Corporation $WLK

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs has increased its stake in Westlake Corp. by 10.9%, acquiring an additional 102,268 shares, bringing their total to over 1 million shares worth approximately $104.15 million.
• Westlake has announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.47 to $0.53 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.4% for investors.
• Despite recent share price fluctuations, analysts have varying price targets for Westlake, with the average target set at $92.29 and most analysts maintaining a "buy" rating.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 10.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,041,190 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 102,268 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.81% of Westlake worth $104,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 107,396 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $12,312,000 after purchasing an additional 3,588 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Westlake by 71.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 50,196 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $5,755,000 after acquiring an additional 20,854 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Westlake by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Westlake by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 38,583 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $4,424,000 after buying an additional 4,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 122.6% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 193,087 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $22,137,000 after purchasing an additional 106,329 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE WLK traded down $1.97 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $85.00. 1,243,756 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 991,747. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $84.30 and a 200 day moving average of $85.96. Westlake Corporation has a 12-month low of $68.55 and a 12-month high of $151.56. The company has a market cap of $10.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -160.36 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This is a boost from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -400.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WLK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on Westlake from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Westlake from $117.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Westlake from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group cut their target price on Westlake from $101.00 to $99.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Westlake from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.