Wellington Management Group LLP Cuts Stake in Westlake Corp. $WLK

Wellington Management Group LLP decreased its holdings in Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 89.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,674 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 38,260 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP's holdings in Westlake were worth $468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 22,124 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,537,000 after acquiring an additional 2,354 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Westlake by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 305,663 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $35,044,000 after purchasing an additional 34,481 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in Westlake by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 29,600 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,394,000 after purchasing an additional 4,501 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its stake in Westlake by 113.9% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 105,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $12,061,000 after purchasing an additional 56,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Westlake by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 107,396 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $12,312,000 after purchasing an additional 3,588 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Westlake Stock Up 2.0%

NYSE:WLK traded up $1.75 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $89.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,200,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,105,574. The company has a market capitalization of $11.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -168.66 and a beta of 0.92. Westlake Corp. has a 12 month low of $68.55 and a 12 month high of $151.56. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $83.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.27.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during 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%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is presently -400.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on WLK shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Westlake from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $117.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.