Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Falls 5.1% – Here’s What Happened

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) fell 5.1% during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $63.42 and last traded at $63.4330. Approximately 531,518 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 1,142,926 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WLK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (up from $89.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $104.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $106.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Westlake in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Westlake has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.64.

Westlake Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.52 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $73.59 and its 200-day moving average is $87.80.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 10.94% and a positive return on equity of 0.93%. The company’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.11) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Westlake Corporation will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th were given a dividend of $0.5330 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $2.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently -22.23%.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In other Westlake news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total value of $3,120,724.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 642,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,610,406.40. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $240,474,000. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in Westlake during the 4th quarter worth approximately $160,548,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its position in Westlake by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,670,327 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $123,505,000 after acquiring an additional 121,633 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Westlake by 61.5% in the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 420,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,055,000 after acquiring an additional 160,000 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 28.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 236,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,685,000 after acquiring an additional 52,551 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corporation (NYSE: WLK) is a global manufacturer of performance and essential materials used in construction, infrastructure, packaging, healthcare, automotive, and consumer products. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company operates through businesses focused on producing chemical building blocks, polymers, and specialty materials.

Its product portfolio includes polyvinyl chloride (PVC), chlor-alkali products such as caustic soda and chlorine, polyethylene, epoxy and specialty resins, and other performance chemicals.