Westlake Corporation (WLK) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.53 on September 10th

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be given a dividend of 0.533 per share by the specialty chemicals company on Thursday, September 10th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. This is a 0.6% increase from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53.

Westlake has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 21 years. Westlake has a dividend payout ratio of 41.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Westlake to earn $3.17 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.13 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 67.2%.

Westlake Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $78.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $76.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.53. Westlake has a 1 year low of $56.33 and a 1 year high of $124.23. The stock has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a PE ratio of -8.24 and a beta of 0.63.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westlake news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total value of $3,120,724.44. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 642,880 shares in the company, valued at $51,610,406.40. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in Westlake by 1.3% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 8,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $935,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Westlake by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 28,134 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,136,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $178,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 6,868 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $802,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

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.