Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Invests $686,000 in Westlake Corporation $WLK

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,392 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $686,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Westlake during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the third quarter valued at $53,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 49.6% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 745 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Westlake by 58.1% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 778 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Price Performance

NYSE:WLK opened at $71.68 on Thursday. Westlake Corporation has a one year low of $56.33 and a one year high of $124.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.45. The firm has a market cap of $9.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.48 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $75.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.55.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.11) EPS. Research analysts expect that Westlake Corporation will post 3.35 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $0.533 per share. This is an increase from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -22.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WLK shares. Mizuho reduced their target price on Westlake from $110.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective (up from $89.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Westlake from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.92.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In other Westlake news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.