Westlake Corporation $WLK Shares Acquired by Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V.

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) by 20.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 235,919 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 39,876 shares during the period. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. owned approximately 0.18% of Westlake worth $17,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Westlake by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Westlake by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 28,134 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,136,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Comerica Bank grew its stake in Westlake by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 28,483 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,106,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. Journey Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 45,072 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,473,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 71.3% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 562 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $88.63 on Friday. Westlake Corporation has a twelve month low of $56.33 and a twelve month high of $124.23. The stock has a market cap of $11.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.98 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $101.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.15.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.67). Westlake had a negative net margin of 14.91% and a negative return on equity of 1.89%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.31) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Westlake Corporation will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Westlake’s payout ratio is -16.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WLK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $115.00 price target on shares of Westlake and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Westlake from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Citigroup lowered shares of Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $125.00 to $95.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Westlake from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.36.

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.