SG Americas Securities LLC Buys 30,072 Shares of Westlake Corporation $WLK

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) by 433.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,011 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,072 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Westlake were worth $2,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aventail Capital Group LP bought a new stake in shares of Westlake in the third quarter valued at about $6,037,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in Westlake by 61.3% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 117,151 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,028,000 after purchasing an additional 44,525 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 142.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 25,833 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,963,000 after purchasing an additional 15,193 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 546,151 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $41,923,000 after purchasing an additional 25,414 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 57.4% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 165,315 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $12,739,000 after purchasing an additional 60,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westlake

In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total value of $1,756,916.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,484,178.36. This represents a 28.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $119.29 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $102.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.20 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Westlake Corporation has a 52 week low of $56.33 and a 52 week high of $120.00.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued 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. Westlake had a negative net margin of 13.50% and a negative return on equity of 1.22%. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.06 EPS. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Westlake Corporation will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 was Tuesday, March 3rd. Westlake’s payout ratio is presently -18.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WLK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Westlake from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Westlake in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Westlake from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Westlake in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.20.

About Westlake

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.