Mark Steven Bender Sells 17,409 Shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total transaction of $1,756,916.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 44,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,484,178.36. The trade was a 28.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK traded up $1.04 during trading on Monday, reaching $106.42. 827,420 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,425,061. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.24. The company has a market cap of $13.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.13, a PEG ratio of 42.79 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.78. Westlake Corporation has a 12-month low of $56.33 and a 12-month high of $114.75.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $1.22. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 13.50% and a negative return on equity of 1.22%. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.06 earnings per share. On average, equities 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 will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 3rd. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -18.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Westlake by 79.9% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Westlake in the second quarter valued at $404,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Westlake during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $104,314,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 142.8% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 25,833 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,963,000 after purchasing an additional 15,193 shares during the period. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 246.0% in the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,456,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $110,621,000 after acquiring an additional 1,035,851 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Westlake from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Westlake from $92.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $87.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Westlake in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. One 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Westlake presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.80.

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.