BNP Paribas Financial Markets Decreases Holdings in Westlake Corporation $WLK

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its holdings in shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) by 51.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 92,223 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 98,743 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.07% of Westlake worth $6,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Westlake by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,917,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $289,647,000 after buying an additional 477,698 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Westlake by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,300,240 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $100,195,000 after buying an additional 25,071 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Westlake by 40.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 917,273 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $70,685,000 after buying an additional 265,447 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Westlake by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 855,976 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $65,961,000 after buying an additional 11,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Westlake by 440.1% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 854,184 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $65,823,000 after buying an additional 696,029 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Up 1.4%

WLK opened at $86.43 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $102.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $11.07 billion, a PE ratio of -6.81 and a beta of 0.58. Westlake Corporation has a 52 week low of $56.33 and a 52 week high of $124.23.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 14.91% and a negative return on equity of 1.89%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.31) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Westlake Corporation will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently -16.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WLK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Westlake in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday, April 20th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $119.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Westlake from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.