Quantbot Technologies LP Makes New $4.38 Million Investment in Westlake Corporation $WLK

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 56,785 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,376,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Westlake by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,433 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Westlake by 0.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 28,134 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,136,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its position in Westlake by 4.1% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 5,020 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 54.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 567 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Journey Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Westlake by 0.5% during the third quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 45,072 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,473,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $46,181,507.54. The trade was a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WLK has been the topic of several recent research reports. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Westlake in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $80.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday, December 15th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Westlake from $100.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective (down from $91.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.80.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $105.59 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $87.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $13.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.02, a P/E/G ratio of 42.79 and a beta of 0.83. Westlake Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $56.33 and a fifty-two week high of $114.75.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $1.22. Westlake had a negative return on equity of 1.22% and a negative net margin of 13.50%.The business had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.06 EPS. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Westlake Corporation will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -18.12%.

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.