JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 9,801 Shares of Westlake Corporation $WLK

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its position in Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) by 5.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 157,794 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 9,801 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Westlake were worth $12,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 90.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,687 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,869,000 after acquiring an additional 18,321 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 9.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 19,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,668 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Westlake in the first quarter worth $211,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in Westlake by 54.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 567 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in Westlake by 989.6% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 730 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $105.45 on Friday. Westlake Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $56.33 and a fifty-two week high of $113.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.24. The company has a market cap of $13.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.01, a PEG ratio of 36.31 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $89.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.42.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $1.22. Westlake had a negative return on equity of 1.22% and a negative net margin of 13.50%.The company had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.06 EPS. Westlake’s revenue was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Westlake Corporation will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently -18.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WLK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Westlake from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Westlake from $100.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors set a $80.00 price target on Westlake in a report on Monday, November 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.73.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.57, for a total transaction of $3,004,304.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 627,722 shares in the company, valued at $46,181,507.54. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total transaction of $1,756,916.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,484,178.36. This trade represents a 28.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.