The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Takes $2.71 Million Position in Westlake Corporation $WLK

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 37,155 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,712,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in Westlake by 1.3% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 8,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $935,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $178,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 6,868 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $802,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 37.4% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 805 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE WLK opened at $76.25 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $9.74 billion, a PE ratio of -7.96 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Westlake Corporation has a twelve month low of $56.33 and a twelve month high of $124.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.41.

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

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a $0.533 dividend. This is a positive change from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $2.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Westlake’s payout ratio is presently -22.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total value of $3,120,724.44. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 642,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,610,406.40. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WLK. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Westlake from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Friday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.