Westlake Corp. $WLK Shares Sold by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. cut its stake in Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 80.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 24,012 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.'s holdings in Westlake were worth $599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Westlake by 90.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,687 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,869,000 after purchasing an additional 18,321 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Westlake by 105.9% during the 1st quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 36,754 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,677,000 after buying an additional 18,904 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Westlake by 426.3% during the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 9,863 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $987,000 after buying an additional 7,989 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake during the 1st quarter worth about $2,729,000. Finally, Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in Westlake by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 30,638 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,065,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WLK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on Westlake from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Westlake from $98.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Westlake from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Westlake from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Westlake from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. One research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.29.

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE WLK traded down $1.47 on Friday, hitting $88.11. 745,794 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 995,493. 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 firm's 50-day moving average price is $84.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.45. Westlake Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $68.55 and a fifty-two week high of $151.56. The firm has a market cap of $11.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -166.25 and a beta of 0.92.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). Westlake had a positive return on equity of 1.26% and a negative net margin of 0.57%.The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This is a positive change from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Westlake's payout ratio is presently -400.00%.

Westlake Company 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.