Westlake Corp. $WLK Shares Sold by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC has reduced its stake in Westlake Corp. by 59.7% during the first quarter, retaining 10,640 shares worth approximately $1,062,000.
• Westlake recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.53, up from $0.47, giving an annualized yield of 2.4%.
• The company's quarterly earnings fell short of analysts' expectations, reporting an EPS of ($0.09) against a consensus of $0.06, and revenue dropped by 7.9% year-over-year.

Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 59.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,640 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 15,784 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Westlake were worth $1,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Westlake by 251.1% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 316 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 127.1% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 427 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Westlake by 71.9% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 514 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Westlake by 33.9% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Westlake by 3,005.6% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 559 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Westlake Stock Up 3.6%

Shares of WLK stock traded up $3.03 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $87.68. 1,000,425 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,109,663. The business's fifty day moving average is $83.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Westlake Corp. has a 12-month low of $68.55 and a 12-month high of $151.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -165.43 and a beta of 0.92.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued 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). Westlake had a positive return on equity of 1.26% and a negative net margin of 0.57%.The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The company 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. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Westlake's payout ratio is presently -400.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WLK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Westlake from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Westlake from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $101.00 to $99.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Westlake from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.