Short Interest in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Rises By 31.9%

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,680,000 shares, an increase of 31.9% from the April 30th total of 2,790,000 shares. Currently, 11.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 997,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 14,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,690,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV raised its holdings in Westlake by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 4,877 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings 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 worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Price Performance

NYSE:WLK traded up $1.52 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $73.51. 1,115,665 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 679,563. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The firm's 50-day moving average is $83.54 and its 200-day moving average is $103.66. The stock has a market cap of $9.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 103.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.91. Westlake has a 1-year low of $68.55 and a 1-year high of $156.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The firm's revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is currently 70.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WLK. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $122.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Truist Financial lowered their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price target (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $94.00 price target on Westlake and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $89.85.

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.