Wellington Management Group LLP Cuts Stock Holdings in Westlake Corp. $WLK

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its position in shares of Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK) by 89.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,674 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 38,260 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Westlake were worth $468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Westlake by 251.1% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Westlake by 127.1% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 427 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Westlake by 71.9% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 514 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of WLK opened at $87.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.86. Westlake Corp. has a 1-year low of $68.55 and a 1-year high of $151.56. The stock has a market cap of $11.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -165.93 and a beta of 0.92.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.09) earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a positive change from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is -400.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WLK has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group reduced their price target 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. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $98.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Westlake from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has an average 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.