Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Purchases 60,300 Shares of Westlake Corporation $WLK

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) by 57.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 165,315 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 60,300 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned about 0.13% of Westlake worth $12,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 79.9% during the 2nd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 48,014 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,646,000 after purchasing an additional 21,319 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Westlake during the second quarter worth $404,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 2nd quarter valued at $104,314,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 142.8% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 25,833 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,963,000 after buying an additional 15,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 246.0% in the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,456,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $110,621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035,851 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE WLK opened at $102.68 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $88.26 and a 200-day moving average of $80.06. The company has a market capitalization of $13.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.78, a P/E/G ratio of 43.37 and a beta of 0.83. Westlake Corporation has a 52-week low of $56.33 and a 52-week high of $113.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.24.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $1.22. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.06 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Westlake Corporation will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 3rd. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently -18.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westlake

In other Westlake news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.57, for a total value of $3,004,304.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 627,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,181,507.54. The trade was a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total value of $1,756,916.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,484,178.36. This represents a 28.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on WLK. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a report on Friday, January 16th. Alembic Global Advisors set a $80.00 target price on Westlake in a report on Monday, November 17th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $83.00 target price (down from $91.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Westlake from $100.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Westlake in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.80.

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.