25,705 Shares in Westlake Corporation $WLK Acquired by Man Group plc

Man Group plc bought a new position in Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 25,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,876,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Westlake by 71.3% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 562 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Westlake in the third quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Westlake by 49.6% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 745 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Westlake news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total transaction of $3,120,724.44. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 642,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,610,406.40. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK stock opened at $74.13 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $75.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.57. Westlake Corporation has a 12-month low of $56.33 and a 12-month high of $124.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $9.47 billion, a PE ratio of -7.74 and a beta of 0.63.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. Westlake had a positive return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 10.94%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($1.11) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Westlake Corporation will post 3.35 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a $0.533 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. This is a positive change from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Westlake’s payout ratio is -22.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WLK. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $106.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.92.

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.