HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in Westlake Corp. $WLK

Key Points

• HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Westlake Corp. by 17.9% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 71,475 shares valued at $7.15 million.
• Despite recent upgrades from some brokerages, Westlake Corp. reported a loss of ($0.09) EPS in its latest earnings, missing analyst expectations, with revenue down 7.9% year-over-year.
• Westlake announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.53, marking a rise from the previous $0.47, with a dividend yield of 2.5%.

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC increased its position in Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 17.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 71,475 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 10,827 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Westlake worth $7,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Westlake by 251.1% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 316 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Westlake by 71.9% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 514 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Westlake by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 12,253 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Westlake by 2.7% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 61,134 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $6,115,000 after buying an additional 1,635 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Westlake by 45.2% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,535 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,654,000 after purchasing an additional 8,258 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WLK. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Westlake from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. 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 sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $92.29.

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE:WLK opened at $84.05 on Monday. Westlake Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $68.55 and a fifty-two week high of $153.34. The company has a market cap of $10.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -158.58, a PEG ratio of 369.22 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $80.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.87.

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

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This is an increase from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is -396.23%.

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.

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