Key Points
- Westlake Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares at an average price of $80.28, generating $3.12 million and reducing his direct stake by 5.7% to 642,880 shares.
- Westlake’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $2.01 versus the $1.83 consensus and revenue of $3.27 billion, up 10.8% year over year.
- Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $93.92, while the company recently declared a $0.53 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 2.6% yield.
Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total transaction of $3,120,724.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 642,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,610,406.40. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.
Westlake Trading Up 2.1%
Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $80.78 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day moving average is $78.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.70. Westlake Corporation has a 1-year low of $56.33 and a 1-year high of $124.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.43 and a beta of 0.63.
Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. Westlake had a positive return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 10.94%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($1.11) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Westlake Corporation will post 3.32 EPS for the current year.
Westlake Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is presently -22.13%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake
Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its stake in Westlake by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 4,386,635 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $324,348,000 after acquiring an additional 472,224 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 7,239.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,220,717 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $312,080,000 after acquiring an additional 4,163,207 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,917,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $289,647,000 after purchasing an additional 477,698 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the second quarter valued at approximately $240,474,000. Finally, Capital World Investors bought a new position in Westlake in the fourth quarter worth approximately $160,548,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $89.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Westlake from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Westlake from $106.00 to $92.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Westlake from $110.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.92.
View Our Latest Analysis on Westlake
Westlake Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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