Westlake Corporation (WLK) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.53 on March 18th

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.53 per share by the specialty chemicals company on Wednesday, March 18th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 3rd.

Westlake has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 21 consecutive years. Westlake has a dividend payout ratio of 41.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Westlake to earn $7.44 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.12 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 28.5%.

Westlake Stock Performance

WLK stock opened at $105.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Westlake has a 1 year low of $56.33 and a 1 year high of $114.75. The company has a market cap of $13.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 45.50 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $87.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.82.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) earnings per share 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 return on equity of 1.22% and a negative net margin of 13.50%.Westlake’s revenue was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.06 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westlake news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.57, for a total value of $3,004,304.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 627,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,181,507.54. This represents a 6.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Westlake by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Westlake by 11.8% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,433 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 0.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 28,134 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,136,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 4.1% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 5,020 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 54.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 567 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

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.