Investors Buy High Volume of Westlake Put Options (NYSE:WLK)

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders bought 6,175 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 863% compared to the typical volume of 641 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WLK shares. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Westlake in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $168.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upgraded shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.79.

Westlake Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE WLK traded down $3.57 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $106.14. The company had a trading volume of 333,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 567,382. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $114.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. The company has a market capitalization of $13.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 148.69, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17. Westlake has a 12-month low of $105.14 and a 12-month high of $162.64.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 295.77%.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,758.72. This represents a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Westlake by 4.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 552,646 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $82,837,000 after buying an additional 23,558 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Westlake by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 59,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,822,000 after buying an additional 12,833 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Westlake by 15.2% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 49,085 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,377,000 after buying an additional 6,476 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Westlake by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 79,178 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,078,000 after buying an additional 5,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Westlake by 88.3% in the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 18,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,154,000 after buying an additional 8,813 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

About Westlake

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.