HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Westlake Corporation $WLK

Key Points

• HITE Hedge Asset Management trimmed its stake in Westlake by 12.7% in Q3, selling 14,487 shares and holding 100,000 shares worth about $7.71 million (≈0.08% of the company).
• Westlake beat quarterly EPS estimates (reported -$0.25 vs. est. -$1.47) despite a 10.9% year-over-year revenue decline and negative net margin, and announced a $0.53 quarterly dividend (≈1.9% yield).
• Analysts are mixed but turning more bullish—UBS and BMO raised targets to $129 and $127 respectively—while the consensus rating is a "Hold" with an average target of $98.13; the stock is trading near its 52-week high around $114 and was up ~6.8%.

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 14,487 shares during the quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Westlake worth $7,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Westlake by 180.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 740 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 49.6% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 745 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 58.1% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 778 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 87.3% during the 2nd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 1,167.1% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,001 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 922 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WLK shares. Morgan Stanley set a $80.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday, December 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Westlake in a report on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $92.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Westlake in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Westlake from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $108.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $98.13.

Westlake Trading Up 6.8%

Shares of WLK stock opened at $114.32 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Westlake Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $56.33 and a fifty-two week high of $114.65. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $92.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.20. The stock has a market cap of $14.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.77 and a beta of 0.83.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $1.22. Westlake had a negative net margin of 13.50% and a negative return on equity of 1.22%. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.06 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Westlake Corporation will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 3rd. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is currently -18.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westlake

In other news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.57, for a total value of $3,004,304.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 627,722 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,181,507.54. This represents a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total value of $1,756,916.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,484,178.36. The trade was a 28.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Westlake

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WLK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.