Westlake Corporation $WLK Shares Acquired by ProShare Advisors LLC

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors increased its Westlake stake by 54.4% in the third quarter, purchasing 124,129 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 352,448 shares valued at approximately $22 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $81.13; several firms recently lowered their targets, while Zacks downgraded the stock to “strong sell.”
• Westlake reported quarterly EPS of $2.01, exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 10.8% year over year to $3.27 billion. The company also increased its quarterly dividend slightly to $0.533 per share, implying a 3.0% annual yield.

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 54.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 352,448 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 124,129 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.28% of Westlake worth $21,961,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in Westlake by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 8,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $935,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Westlake by 14.0% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $178,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Westlake by 3.0% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 6,868 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $802,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 133.8% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 830 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Westlake during the third quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total value of $3,120,724.44. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 642,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,610,406.40. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WLK. Mizuho set a $72.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Westlake in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Zacks Research cut shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $89.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $104.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $81.13.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of WLK stock opened at $70.86 on Tuesday. Westlake Corporation has a 52-week low of $56.33 and a 52-week high of $124.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.40 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $67.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.59.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. Westlake had a positive return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 10.94%. Westlake's quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($1.11) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Westlake Corporation will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th were paid a dividend of $0.5330 per share. This is an increase from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 25th. Westlake's payout ratio is presently -22.23%.

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corporation is a global manufacturer of performance and essential materials, as well as products used in housing and infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company serves customers in construction, packaging, healthcare, consumer products, automotive, and other industrial markets.

Westlake's materials portfolio includes chlor-alkali and derivative chemicals, polyethylene, PVC, vinyl intermediates, epoxy resins, and other specialty products. These materials are used in applications such as water treatment, coatings, adhesives, plastics, medical products, and packaging.

Through its housing and infrastructure businesses, Westlake also produces building products including vinyl siding, trim, roofing products, pipe, fittings, and related components.

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