Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Acquires 1,305 Shares of Westlake Corporation $WLK

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) by 50.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,905 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 1,305 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Westlake were worth $297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Huntington National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Westlake by 107.0% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 565 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Westlake by 54.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 567 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 49.9% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 640 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 989.6% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 730 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WLK. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $83.00 target price (down from $91.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $87.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Westlake from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $90.00 price target on Westlake and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.67.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $59.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -111.64 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s 50 day moving average is $73.85 and its 200-day moving average is $78.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Westlake Corporation has a 1-year low of $56.33 and a 1-year high of $133.51.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.29) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.47). Westlake had a negative net margin of 0.57% and a positive return on equity of 1.26%. The firm 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 company earned $1.41 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Westlake Corporation will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 25th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -28.57%.

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.