Creative Planning Grows Holdings in Westlake Corporation $WLK

Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) by 39.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,165 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,147 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Westlake were worth $848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Huntington National Bank bought a new stake in Westlake during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of Westlake by 3,005.6% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 559 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 107.0% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 565 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 54.5% in 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 during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in Westlake by 66.0% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 601 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $67.63 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.68 billion, a PE ratio of -127.61 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.39. Westlake Corporation has a one year low of $56.33 and a one year high of $129.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.47.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.47). The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 0.57% and a positive return on equity of 1.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Westlake Corporation will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 25th. Westlake’s payout ratio is currently -28.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WLK shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Westlake from $98.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Westlake and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Mizuho set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Westlake and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Westlake from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.67.

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.