Walleye Capital LLC Boosts Stock Position in Westlake Corp. $WLK

Key Points

• Walleye Capital LLC increased its stake in Westlake Corp. by 377.1%, purchasing an additional 27,172 shares to own a total of 34,377 shares valued at $3,439,000.
• Westlake Corp. reported a loss of $0.09 earnings per share for the recent quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations of a profit of $0.06.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, increasing from the previous $0.47, with a 2.5% yield for shareholders.

Walleye Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 377.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,377 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 27,172 shares during the quarter. Walleye Capital LLC's holdings in Westlake were worth $3,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC lifted its holdings in Westlake by 8.8% in the first quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 13,885 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Westlake in the first quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in Westlake in the first quarter valued at approximately $581,000. Sprott Inc. lifted its holdings in Westlake by 38.5% in the first quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 90,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $9,003,000 after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Westlake by 8.5% in the first quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 153,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $15,325,000 after acquiring an additional 12,000 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on WLK. Tudor Pickering upgraded Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Westlake from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Westlake from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.29.

Westlake Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE:WLK traded up $1.54 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $87.95. 907,528 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,354,648. The company has a market capitalization of $11.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -165.93 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Westlake Corp. has a twelve month low of $68.55 and a twelve month high of $151.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $82.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.22.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced 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). 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 firm's revenue was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 EPS 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 paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. This is an increase 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 payout ratio is -400.00%.

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.