Westlake Corporation $WLK Shares Sold by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) by 55.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,769 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 15,673 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Westlake were worth $1,492,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WLK. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd boosted its holdings in Westlake by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 4,386,635 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $324,348,000 after purchasing an additional 472,224 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Westlake by 7,239.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,220,717 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $312,080,000 after purchasing an additional 4,163,207 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Westlake by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,917,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $289,647,000 after purchasing an additional 477,698 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $160,548,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 45.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,885,678 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $139,431,000 after buying an additional 585,438 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WLK shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Westlake in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Westlake presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.92.

Westlake Trading Up 2.1%

NYSE WLK opened at $79.08 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.45. Westlake Corporation has a one year low of $56.33 and a one year high of $124.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a PE ratio of -8.25 and a beta of 0.63.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its earnings results 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 negative net margin of 10.94% and a positive return on equity of 0.93%. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($1.11) earnings per share. Westlake’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Westlake Corporation will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -22.13%.

Westlake Company 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.