PDT Partners LLC Takes $5.53 Million Position in Westlake Corporation $WLK

PDT Partners LLC bought a new position in Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 75,777 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,532,000. PDT Partners LLC owned about 0.06% of Westlake as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Westlake during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised 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 during 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 boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total transaction of $3,120,724.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 642,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,610,406.40. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WLK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday, July 6th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Westlake from $110.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Westlake from $127.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price (up from $89.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Westlake has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.92.

Westlake Trading Down 2.2%

WLK opened at $74.83 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Westlake Corporation has a 52 week low of $56.33 and a 52 week high of $124.23. The stock has a market cap of $9.56 billion, a PE ratio of -7.81 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a 50 day moving average of $76.48 and a 200-day moving average of $93.35.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. Westlake had a positive return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 10.94%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.11) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Westlake Corporation will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be given a $0.533 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $2.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Westlake’s payout ratio is currently -22.13%.

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.