ING Groep NV Boosts Stock Position in Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK)

Key Points

• ING Groep NV increased its stake in Westlake Corp. by 32.7% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 7,300 shares for a total of $2,961,000 in holdings.
• Westlake Corp. has recently seen a decline in its stock price, with several analysts lowering their target prices, resulting in a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target of $93.77.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4714, reflecting a 2.3% yield and a payout ratio of 70.47%.

ING Groep NV increased its position in shares of Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 32.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,600 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 7,300 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in Westlake were worth $2,961,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WLK. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 14,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 4,877 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 33.9% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 525 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 6,578 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $658,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Westlake from $117.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Westlake from $130.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Westlake from $101.00 to $99.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Westlake from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.93.

Westlake Stock Down 3.7%

Shares of WLK traded down $3.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $79.06. The company had a trading volume of 1,230,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,246,577. The company has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a PE ratio of -149.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 51.04 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Westlake Corp. has a one year low of $68.55 and a one year high of $153.34. The company's fifty day moving average price is $79.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.47.

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 company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. Westlake had a positive return on equity of 1.26% and a negative net margin of 0.57%. The company's revenue was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 earnings per share 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 given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Westlake's payout ratio is presently -396.23%.

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.