Gries Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 13,512 Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK)

Gries Financial LLC acquired a new position in Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 13,512 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,352,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 worth $390,120,000 after buying an additional 586,178 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,877,973 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $444,610,000 after purchasing an additional 21,293 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted 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 worth $113,865,000 after purchasing an additional 873,888 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted 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 worth $112,711,000 after purchasing an additional 58,093 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted 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 worth $107,092,000 after purchasing an additional 43,544 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Stock Down 5.8%

NYSE WLK traded down $5.05 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $82.26. The company had a trading volume of 1,163,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 973,231. Westlake Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $68.55 and a fifty-two week high of $153.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.63 and a quick ratio of 1.86. The company has a market capitalization of $10.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 21.15 and a beta of 0.91. The firm's 50 day moving average is $77.49 and its 200 day moving average is $94.22.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($1.01). Westlake had a return on equity of 4.19% and a net margin of 3.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Westlake's payout ratio is 70.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WLK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $117.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $101.00 to $99.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Westlake from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.77.

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.