Insider Selling: Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Director Sells 1,750 Shares of Stock

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,239,420. This represents a 15.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of WLK stock traded up $1.85 on Monday, hitting $132.30. 37,386 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 444,261. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $138.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.44. The firm has a market cap of $17.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 183.73, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.19. Westlake Co. has a 52 week low of $118.64 and a 52 week high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently 295.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WLK. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Westlake in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.17.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Westlake by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,198,710 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $180,154,000 after purchasing an additional 9,838 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 699.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 595,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $89,445,000 after buying an additional 520,669 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Westlake by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 552,646 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $82,837,000 after buying an additional 23,558 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Westlake by 90.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 386,480 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $58,084,000 after purchasing an additional 183,666 shares during the period. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,542,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.