Mark Steven Bender Sells 4,950 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Stock

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.19, for a total value of $753,340.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,141,779.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Mark Steven Bender also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, March 6th, Mark Steven Bender sold 4,804 shares of Westlake stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.02, for a total value of $677,460.08.
• On Monday, February 26th, Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of Westlake stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total value of $667,764.78.

Westlake Stock Performance

WLK traded up $1.80 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $154.05. The company had a trading volume of 23,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 394,800. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $148.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.46. Westlake Co. has a 12-month low of $103.28 and a 12-month high of $162.64. The stock has a market cap of $19.81 billion, a PE ratio of 76.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.30.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.25. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.69% and a net margin of 2.13%. The business had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westlake during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Westlake by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 55.9% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 354 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter worth approximately $87,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on WLK. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Westlake from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup increased their price target on Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Vertical Research lowered Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $154.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Westlake from $134.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.79.

Westlake Company Profile

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.