Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Decreases Stock Position in Westlake Corporation $WLK

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 506,756 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 39,395 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.40% of Westlake worth $37,576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WLK. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the second quarter valued at $104,314,000. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in Westlake by 440.1% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 854,184 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $65,823,000 after purchasing an additional 696,029 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Westlake by 495.8% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 475,743 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,661,000 after purchasing an additional 395,896 shares during the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new stake in Westlake in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,383,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its position in Westlake by 12,724.7% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 351,011 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,652,000 after purchasing an additional 348,274 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total transaction of $1,756,916.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,433 shares in the company, valued at $4,484,178.36. The trade was a 28.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Westlake Trading Up 2.3%

WLK stock opened at $119.29 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $101.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.90. Westlake Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $56.33 and a fifty-two week high of $120.00. The firm has a market cap of $15.26 billion, a PE ratio of -10.20 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.24.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $1.22. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 13.50% and a negative return on equity of 1.22%. Westlake’s revenue was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.06 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake Corporation will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. Westlake’s payout ratio is presently -18.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Westlake from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Westlake from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Westlake from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $80.00 target price on Westlake in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Westlake from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.20.

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.