ProShare Advisors LLC Grows Position in Westlake Corporation $WLK

ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 435,261 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,621 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Westlake were worth $32,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Comerica Bank increased its position in shares of Westlake by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 28,483 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,106,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. Journey Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Westlake by 0.5% in the 3rd 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. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Westlake by 71.3% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 562 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Westlake by 49.6% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 745 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of WLK opened at $88.56 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $109.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.48. The company has a market capitalization of $11.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.97 and a beta of 0.67. Westlake Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $56.33 and a fifty-two week high of $124.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.17.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.67). Westlake had a negative net margin of 14.91% and a negative return on equity of 1.89%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.31) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Westlake Corporation will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Westlake’s payout ratio is presently -16.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total value 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 represents a 28.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Westlake from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $119.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group set a $130.00 target price on Westlake and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Westlake from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Westlake has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.43.

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.