QRG Capital Management Inc. Sells 4,373 Shares of Westlake Corporation $WLK

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Westlake Corporation by 50.4%, selling 4,373 shares during the second quarter, leaving them with 4,307 shares valued at approximately $327,000.
• Westlake's stock has seen a 6.3% decline, with recent earnings reports showing a loss of ($0.09) EPS and revenue down 7.9% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.53 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 2.8% despite a negative dividend payout ratio of -400.00%.

QRG Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 50.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,307 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 4,373 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Westlake were worth $327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Westlake by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 244,497 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $24,457,000 after acquiring an additional 8,143 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased 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 during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Westlake by 71.9% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 514 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Westlake by 45.2% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,535 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,654,000 after acquiring an additional 8,258 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WLK. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Westlake from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Westlake in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Westlake from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Westlake from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Westlake from $101.00 to $99.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.93.

Westlake Stock Down 6.3%

Shares of WLK opened at $75.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.70 billion, a PE ratio of -142.66 and a beta of 0.93. Westlake Corporation has a 12 month low of $68.55 and a 12 month high of $144.95. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $83.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Westlake Corporation will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. This is a boost from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -400.00%.

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.

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