KBC Group NV Sells 560 Shares of Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK)

KBC Group NV decreased its stake in Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,695 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 560 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Westlake were worth $2,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WLK. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 8,900 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,020,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 236,354 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,098,000 after buying an additional 11,992 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter worth $9,430,000. Aigen Investment Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 5,251 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $602,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,285,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $76.00 target price (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.85.

Westlake Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of WLK opened at $81.11 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.22, a PEG ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.20. Westlake Corp. has a twelve month low of $68.55 and a twelve month high of $153.34.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($1.01). The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 4.19%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. Westlake’s payout ratio is currently 70.47%.

About Westlake

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.