Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its stake in Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 219,679 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 6,297 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.17% of Westlake worth $21,974,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Westlake by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 76,996 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,702,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the 1st quarter worth approximately $565,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Westlake by 251.1% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 316 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position 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 worth $55,166,000 after purchasing an additional 175,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Westlake by 51.3% during the 1st quarter. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. now owns 3,965 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,344 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $83.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.01, a P/E/G ratio of 9.67 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $77.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 2.63. Westlake Corp. has a 52-week low of $68.55 and a 52-week high of $153.34.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($1.01). Westlake had a return on equity of 4.19% and a net margin of 3.23%. The business had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. Westlake’s payout ratio is 70.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $101.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.77.

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.