Westlake (NYSE:WLK) CFO Sells $1,756,916.28 in Stock

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total transaction of $1,756,916.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 44,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,484,178.36. This trade represents a 28.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of WLK traded up $1.04 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $106.42. The stock had a trading volume of 827,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,425,061. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.13, a P/E/G ratio of 42.79 and a beta of 0.83. Westlake Corporation has a 52 week low of $56.33 and a 52 week high of $114.75. The company’s fifty day moving average is $87.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.78.

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

Westlake Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Westlake by 90.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,687 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,869,000 after buying an additional 18,321 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Westlake by 9.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 19,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,881,000 after acquiring an additional 1,668 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the first quarter worth $211,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Westlake by 54.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 567 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Westlake by 989.6% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 730 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WLK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Westlake in a report on Friday, January 16th. Mizuho increased their target price on Westlake from $88.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $83.00 target price (down from $91.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $92.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Westlake currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.80.

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.