Vident Advisory LLC Has $987,000 Stock Holdings in Westlake Corp. $WLK

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC has significantly increased its stake in Westlake Corp. by 426.3% in the first quarter, owning nearly 10,000 shares valued at approximately $987,000.
• Westlake recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.47 to $0.53, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.5%.
• Despite a 7.9% year-over-year decline in revenue, Westlake reported a quarterly revenue of $2.95 billion and a loss of ($0.09) EPS, missing analysts' estimates.

Vident Advisory LLC lifted its position in Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 426.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,863 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,989 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Westlake were worth $987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WLK. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 251.1% in the first 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. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 127.1% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 427 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 71.9% in the first 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. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 33.9% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 525 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 3,005.6% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 559 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of WLK stock traded up $1.75 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $89.39. 1,200,207 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,105,574. The stock's 50-day moving average is $83.32 and its 200-day moving average is $87.27. 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 stock has a market cap of $11.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.57 and a beta of 0.92. 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 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 business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. Westlake had a positive return on equity of 1.26% and a negative net margin of 0.57%.Westlake's revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This is a boost from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -400.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on WLK shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Westlake from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Westlake from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Westlake from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Westlake from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.29.

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.