235,379 Shares in Westlake Corporation $WLK Bought by Robotti Robert

Robotti Robert acquired a new stake in Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 235,379 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,183,000. Westlake accounts for 2.8% of Robotti Robert’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 71.3% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 562 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the third quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:WLK opened at $77.55 on Wednesday. Westlake Corporation has a 12 month low of $56.33 and a 12 month high of $124.23. 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 has a market capitalization of $9.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.09 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.65.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 10.94% and a positive return on equity of 0.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.11) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Westlake Corporation will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.533 per share. This is an increase from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $2.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -22.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westlake news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chairman owned 642,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,610,406.40. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on WLK. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $127.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $106.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.92.

About Westlake

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.