Robotti Robert Buys 397 Shares of Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK)

Robotti Robert increased its stake in Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK) by 0.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 164,696 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the quarter. Westlake comprises 3.3% of Robotti Robert’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Robotti Robert owned about 0.13% of Westlake worth $16,475,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 732.7% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 993,150 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $113,865,000 after acquiring an additional 873,888 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the first quarter worth approximately $72,974,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 17.7% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,900,025 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $390,120,000 after acquiring an additional 586,178 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 56.8% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 827,516 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $94,875,000 after acquiring an additional 299,597 shares during the period. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,026,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of WLK opened at $84.99 on Thursday. Westlake Corp. has a 12-month low of $68.55 and a 12-month high of $153.34. The business’s fifty day moving average is $79.62 and its 200 day moving average is $90.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $10.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -160.36, a P/E/G ratio of 81.42 and a beta of 0.92.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.15). Westlake had a positive return on equity of 1.26% and a negative net margin of 0.57%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a boost from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -396.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WLK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Westlake from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Westlake from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. UBS Group cut their price target on Westlake from $101.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.29.

Westlake Profile

Westlake Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Performance and Essential Materials and Housing and Infrastructure Products.