ProShare Advisors LLC Increases Position in Westlake Corporation $WLK

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Westlake Corporation by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 435,261 shares valued at about $32.2 million.
• Westlake reported a weak quarterly earnings result, posting EPS of -$0.77 versus expectations of -$0.10 and revenue of $2.65 billion, which also missed estimates. Revenue fell 6.8% year over year.
• Analysts remain mixed on the stock: the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $110.43, while recent target cuts and rating changes reflect caution around the company.

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 435,261 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 12,621 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.34% of Westlake worth $32,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Westlake by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 28,134 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,136,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Comerica Bank increased its stake in Westlake by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 28,483 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,106,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Journey Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 0.5% during the third quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 45,072 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,473,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 71.3% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 562 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 49.6% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 745 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westlake

In related news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total transaction of $1,756,916.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,433 shares in the company, valued at $4,484,178.36. The trade was a 28.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WLK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $125.00 price target (down from $145.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $115.00 target price on shares of Westlake and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Westlake from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised Westlake from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $108.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $110.43.

Westlake Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $88.56 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $109.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.48. Westlake Corporation has a 1-year low of $56.33 and a 1-year high of $124.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.97 and a beta of 0.67.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.67). Westlake had a negative net margin of 14.91% and a negative return on equity of 1.89%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.31) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Westlake Corporation will post 3.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is currently -16.69%.

Westlake Profile

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.

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