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 stock was sold at an average price of $152.19, for a total transaction 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 stock was sold at an average price of $141.02, for a total transaction 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 transaction of $667,764.78.

Westlake Stock Performance

Westlake stock opened at $156.46 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Westlake Co. has a twelve month low of $103.28 and a twelve month high of $162.64. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $149.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.84. The company has a market cap of $20.12 billion, a PE ratio of 78.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.30.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.05 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 2.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,630,975 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $577,344,000 after purchasing an additional 96,152 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 106.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,311,836 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $183,605,000 after purchasing an additional 675,725 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Westlake by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,142,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $159,917,000 after purchasing an additional 66,614 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 682,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $85,129,000 after purchasing an additional 63,823 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,961,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WLK. Bank of America upgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on Westlake from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Vertical Research cut shares of Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $154.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $147.93.

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.