Graham Capital Management L.P. Has $3.68 Million Holdings in Westlake Corp. $WLK

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Westlake Corp. by 105.9%, owning 36,754 shares valued at approximately $3.68 million.
• Westlake recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53, up from the previous $0.47, representing a 2.4% dividend yield.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $92.29 for Westlake, with ratings ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Hold" among various research reports.

Graham Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 105.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,754 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,904 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Westlake were worth $3,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 426.3% during the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 9,863 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $987,000 after buying an additional 7,989 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the 1st quarter valued at $2,729,000. Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 30,638 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,065,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Westlake by 377.1% during the 1st quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 34,377 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,439,000 after purchasing an additional 27,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC increased its position in shares of Westlake by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 13,885 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WLK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $101.00 to $99.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $117.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Westlake from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.29.

Westlake Stock Performance

WLK stock traded up $3.03 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $87.68. 1,000,425 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,037,328. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $82.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -165.43 and a beta of 0.92. Westlake Corp. has a one year low of $68.55 and a one year high of $151.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 0.57% and a positive return on equity of 1.26%. The company's revenue was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently -400.00%.

About Westlake

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.