Amundi Sells 227,559 Shares of Westlake Corporation $WLK

Key Points

• Amundi significantly reduced its holdings in Westlake Corp. by 81.8%, ending up with 50,770 shares valued at approximately $4.78 million after selling over 227,000 shares.
• Westlake recently declared a quarterly dividend increase from $0.47 to $0.53 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.5%.
• Analysts have generally positive outlooks for Westlake, with target prices raised by various firms, reflecting a consensus average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of approximately $92.29.

Amundi lowered its stake in shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 81.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,770 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 227,559 shares during the quarter. Amundi's holdings in Westlake were worth $4,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Westlake in the first quarter valued at $72,974,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Westlake by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,900,025 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $390,120,000 after purchasing an additional 586,178 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 3,182.3% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 219,030 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $25,112,000 after buying an additional 212,357 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 46.6% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 551,766 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $55,166,000 after buying an additional 175,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Westlake by 84.8% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 372,196 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $42,672,000 after buying an additional 170,791 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:WLK traded up $0.86 on Tuesday, hitting $87.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,034,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 978,944. Westlake Corporation has a 1 year low of $68.55 and a 1 year high of $151.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $84.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -165.30 and a beta of 0.92.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.15). Westlake had a negative net margin of 0.57% and a positive return on equity of 1.26%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Westlake Corporation will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Westlake's payout ratio is currently -400.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on WLK shares. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. 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 report on Wednesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target 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 cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $117.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Westlake from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.