Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires 7,019 Shares of Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Westlake Corp. by 336.0%, now owning shares valued at $911,000 according to their recent SEC filing.
• Westlake's stock dropped 2.1% to $81.34, with a market cap of $10.43 billion and a PE ratio of -153.47.
• Westlake Corp. recently declared a dividend of $0.4714 per share, leading to an annual yield of 2.3% and a payout ratio of 70.47%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 336.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,019 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Westlake were worth $911,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Westlake by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 557,943 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $63,832,000 after buying an additional 5,297 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 251.1% in 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 raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 71.9% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 514 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Westlake by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 61,134 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $6,115,000 after acquiring an additional 1,635 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of WLK traded down $3.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $79.06. The stock had a trading volume of 1,230,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,246,577. The company's fifty day moving average is $79.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.86. Westlake Corp. has a 52 week low of $68.55 and a 52 week high of $153.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -149.17, a P/E/G ratio of 51.04 and a beta of 0.92.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) 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 positive return on equity of 1.26% and a negative net margin of 0.57%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.53 dividend. This is a boost from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is -396.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WLK shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Westlake from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.93.

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.