Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Sold by Entropy Technologies LP

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP sold 48.7% of its shares in Westlake Corp., reducing its holdings to 4,331 shares valued at approximately $433,000.
• Westlake Corp. recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.47 to $0.53 per share, providing a yield of 2.5% for shareholders of record.
• Several analysts have adjusted their ratings on Westlake, with Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgrading the stock to a "buy" and setting a target price of $90, while Piper Sandler lowered its target to $100.

Entropy Technologies LP lowered its position in Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 48.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,331 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 4,112 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP's holdings in Westlake were worth $433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WLK. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in Westlake by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 14,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 4,877 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 33.9% during 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. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services lifted its position in Westlake by 2.8% during the first quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 6,578 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $658,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WLK shares. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Truist Financial dropped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Westlake from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $92.29.

Westlake Trading Down 1.7%

WLK stock traded down $1.49 during trading on Friday, reaching $84.05. 1,004,516 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,413,698. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $80.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.24. Westlake Corp. has a 1 year low of $68.55 and a 1 year high of $153.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -158.58, a P/E/G ratio of 376.08 and a beta of 0.92.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.15). The company 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%. Westlake's revenue was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This is an increase from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Westlake's payout ratio is currently -396.23%.

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.