PDT Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 75,777 Westlake Corporation $WLK

PDT Partners LLC bought a new position in Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 75,777 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,532,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Westlake in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Westlake by 71.3% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 562 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in Westlake during the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Westlake by 49.6% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 745 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WLK. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Westlake from $104.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Westlake from $110.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.92.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In related news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chairman owned 642,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,610,406.40. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Westlake Stock Down 2.2%

WLK opened at $74.83 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $76.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.35. Westlake Corporation has a twelve month low of $56.33 and a twelve month high of $124.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.81 and a beta of 0.63.

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

Westlake Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a $0.533 dividend. This is an increase from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $2.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -22.13%.

Westlake 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.