Albert Chao Sells 40,836 Shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.57, for a total transaction of $3,004,304.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 627,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,181,507.54. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Westlake Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE WLK opened at $73.68 on Thursday. Westlake Corporation has a one year low of $56.33 and a one year high of $119.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.99. The company has a market capitalization of $9.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.93 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.17.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.47). The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 8.34% and a negative return on equity of 0.78%. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Westlake Corporation will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 25th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -28.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 49.9% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 640 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Westlake by 79.9% in the 2nd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 48,014 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,646,000 after purchasing an additional 21,319 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $404,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $104,314,000. Finally, Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the 1st quarter valued at $581,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on WLK. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 target price (down previously from $93.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $83.00 price objective (down previously from $91.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Mizuho set a $90.00 target price on shares of Westlake and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Westlake from $87.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.60.

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corp. is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, polymers and building products, serving customers across industrial and residential markets. The company’s core operations encompass the production of vinyls—primarily polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and its key feedstock vinyl chloride monomer (VCM)—as well as chlor-alkali products including caustic soda and chlorine. In addition, Westlake produces ethylene, propylene and specialty elastomers, along with construction-related materials such as vinyl siding, trim, windows and roofing systems.

Operating a network of vertically integrated plants and distribution centers, Westlake serves markets in North America, Europe and Asia.