Sprott Inc. Acquires 25,000 Shares of Westlake Corp. $WLK

Key Points

• Sprott Inc. increased its holdings in Westlake Corp. by 38.5%, purchasing an additional 25,000 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 90,000 shares valued at $9 million.
• Recent research reports have led to varying price targets for Westlake, with Mizuho raising its target from $82 to $98 and multiple firms issuing ratings ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Neutral."
• Westlake Corp. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53, marking an increase from its previous dividend of $0.47, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.6%.

Sprott Inc. raised its holdings in Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 38.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Westlake worth $9,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in Westlake by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 153,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $15,325,000 after buying an additional 12,000 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Westlake by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 71,475 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $7,150,000 after buying an additional 10,827 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Westlake by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 314,618 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $31,471,000 after buying an additional 8,955 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Westlake by 66.0% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 601 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 1st quarter valued at $1,000,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WLK. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $101.00 to $99.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $98.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Westlake from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.29.

Westlake Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Westlake stock traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $85.65. 249,009 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,037,439. The company has a market cap of $10.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -161.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 383.51 and a beta of 0.92. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $81.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.74. 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 Corp. has a 52 week low of $68.55 and a 52 week high of $151.56.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.15). Westlake had a negative net margin of 0.57% and a positive return on equity of 1.26%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect 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. This is an increase from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. 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.