Quantbot Technologies LP Sells 21,944 Shares of Westlake Corp. $WLK

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP has significantly reduced its stake in Westlake Corp. by 83.1%, now holding 4,451 shares valued at $445,000.
• Several institutional investors have increased their positions in Westlake, with Private Trust Co. NA leading with a 251.1% increase during the first quarter.
• Westlake recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share, reflecting a yield of 2.5%; it will be paid on September 4th to shareholders of record as of August 19th.

Quantbot Technologies LP trimmed its position in Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 83.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,451 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 21,944 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in Westlake were worth $445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Westlake by 732.7% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 993,150 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $113,865,000 after acquiring an additional 873,888 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Westlake in the 1st quarter valued at about $72,974,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Westlake by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,900,025 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $390,120,000 after acquiring an additional 586,178 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. bought a new position in Westlake in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,026,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Westlake by 3,182.3% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 219,030 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $25,112,000 after acquiring an additional 212,357 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WLK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Westlake from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Truist Financial lowered their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $98.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.29.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK traded up $1.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $87.95. 907,528 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,354,648. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.47. The company has a market cap of $11.28 billion, a PE ratio of -165.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 379.90 and a beta of 0.92. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $82.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.38. Westlake Corp. has a 1-year low of $68.55 and a 1-year high of $151.56.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Westlake's payout ratio is presently -400.00%.

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.