Westlake Corporation $WLK Shares Bought by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) by 7.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 178,160 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,845 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Westlake were worth $20,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Westlake in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Westlake by 71.3% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 562 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Westlake during the third quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 49.6% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $76.08 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.99 and a beta of 0.62. Westlake Corporation has a 1 year low of $56.33 and a 1 year 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.67). The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 14.91% and a negative return on equity of 1.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.31) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Westlake Corporation will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -16.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Friday, June 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $104.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.79.

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.