Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 327,663 Shares of Westlake Corp. $WLK

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has decreased its stake in Westlake Corp. by 8.4%, now owning approximately $355.14 million or 2.76% of the company's shares.
• Multiple hedge funds, including Balyasny Asset Management and Victory Capital Management, boosted their positions significantly in Westlake Corp. in the fourth quarter.
• Westlake Corp. reported a loss of ($0.09) earnings per share in its latest quarter, missing analyst estimates and experiencing a 7.9% decline in revenue year-over-year.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 8.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,550,310 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 327,663 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 2.76% of Westlake worth $355,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 251.1% during 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% during 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 holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 61,134 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $6,115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 45.2% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,535 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,654,000 after purchasing an additional 8,258 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WLK traded down $0.0090 on Thursday, hitting $82.7410. 688,225 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,459,450. The company's 50 day moving average price is $80.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.38. Westlake Corp. has a one year low of $68.55 and a one year high of $153.34. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $10.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -156.11, a PEG ratio of 363.81 and a beta of 0.92.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Westlake had a positive return on equity of 1.26% and a negative net margin of 0.57%.The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. This is a positive change from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Westlake's payout ratio is presently -400.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WLK shares. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $101.00 to $99.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Westlake from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Westlake from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One equities 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $92.29.

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.