Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Trading Up 9.2% – Here’s Why

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK)’s stock price rose 9.2% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $81.48 and last traded at $81.2940. Approximately 623,071 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 1,086,784 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WLK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 target price (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Thursday, December 18th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Westlake in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Alembic Global Advisors set a $80.00 target price on Westlake in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $80.00 price target on Westlake in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $78.00 price target on Westlake and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.47.

Westlake Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $68.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.10. The company has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.87, a PEG ratio of 22.12 and a beta of 0.91.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.47). Westlake had a negative net margin of 8.34% and a negative return on equity of 0.78%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. Westlake’s revenue was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Westlake Corporation will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 25th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently -28.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.57, for a total transaction of $3,004,304.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Huntington National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Westlake in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 107.0% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 565 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 49.9% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 640 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% 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.