Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Director Sells $227,500.00 in Stock

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,239,420. The trade was a 15.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Westlake Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of WLK stock opened at $128.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. Westlake Co. has a one year low of $118.64 and a one year high of $162.64. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $137.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.05. The company has a market capitalization of $16.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 181.06, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.19.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by ($0.80). The business had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. Westlake’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. Westlake’s payout ratio is 295.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays raised Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Mizuho began coverage on Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.17.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Westlake by 1.1% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 7,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Westlake by 1.7% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,554 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $849,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 43.2% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 3.8% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Westlake by 3.8% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,724 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Performance and Essential Materials and Housing and Infrastructure Products.