Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.13 Million in Westlake Corporation $WLK

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,700 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,133,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Westlake in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 71.3% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 562 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the third quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position 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 worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $74.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.58 billion, a PE ratio of -5.89 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.17. Westlake Corporation has a 1 year low of $56.33 and a 1 year high of $124.23.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.67). The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. Westlake had a negative return on equity of 1.89% and a negative net margin of 14.91%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.31) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Westlake Corporation will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -16.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WLK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price target on Westlake from $110.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Westlake from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Westlake from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Westlake from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.00.

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.