Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Position in 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. lessened its position in Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 8.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,550,310 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 327,663 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 2.76% of Westlake worth $355,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $113,865,000 after acquiring an additional 873,888 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $390,120,000 after acquiring an additional 586,178 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 56.8% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 827,516 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $94,875,000 after acquiring an additional 299,597 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. bought a new stake in Westlake during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,026,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Westlake by 3,182.3% during 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 buying an additional 212,357 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on WLK. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Westlake from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $98.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $117.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $92.29.

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE:WLK traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $83.29. 433,227 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,029,258. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -157.38, a PEG ratio of 366.14 and a beta of 0.92. Westlake Corp. has a 52-week low of $68.55 and a 52-week high of $153.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The company's 50 day moving average price is $80.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.61.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 0.57% and a positive return on equity of 1.26%. The firm's revenue was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. 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 yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -396.23%.

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.