Invesco Ltd. Sells 13,636 Shares of Westlake Corp. $WLK

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. reduced its stake in Westlake Corp. by 9.2%, selling 13,636 shares to own a total of 134,380 shares worth approximately $13.4 million.
• Westlake recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.47 to $0.53, representing an annualized dividend of $2.12 with a yield of 2.3%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Westlake, with an average target price of $92.29; recent adjustments include both cuts and increases in price targets from various investment firms.

Invesco Ltd. lowered its holdings in Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 9.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 134,380 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 13,636 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.10% of Westlake worth $13,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Westlake by 251.1% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 316 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 127.1% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 427 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 71.9% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Westlake by 33.9% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 525 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in Westlake in the fourth quarter worth $71,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Westlake Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE WLK traded down $0.22 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $85.96. 293,986 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,037,801. The business's fifty day moving average is $81.21 and its 200 day moving average is $88.74. Westlake Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $68.55 and a fifty-two week high of $151.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -162.11, a P/E/G ratio of 383.51 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.

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

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This is a boost from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Westlake's payout ratio is presently -400.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $117.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Westlake from $101.00 to $99.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.29.

Westlake 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.