Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Price Up 9% – Here’s What Happened

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK)’s stock price shot up 9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $91.59 and last traded at $91.33. 692,248 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 1,399,147 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Westlake from $82.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Alembic Global Advisors set a $80.00 price target on shares of Westlake in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Mizuho set a $88.00 price target on shares of Westlake and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Westlake in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $78.00 target price on Westlake and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.47.

Westlake Trading Down 4.0%

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.82 billion, a PE ratio of -12.42, a PEG ratio of 48.32 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 25th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 25th. Westlake’s payout ratio is currently -28.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Westlake news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.57, for a total transaction of $3,004,304.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 627,722 shares in the company, valued at $46,181,507.54. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Westlake by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,917,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $289,647,000 after buying an additional 477,698 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its stake in Westlake by 246.0% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,456,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $110,621,000 after acquiring an additional 1,035,851 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $104,314,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Westlake by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,300,240 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $100,195,000 after purchasing an additional 25,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Westlake by 40.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 917,273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $70,685,000 after purchasing an additional 265,447 shares during the period. 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.