Fifth Third Bancorp Grows Stake in Westlake Corporation $WLK

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) by 2,755.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,045 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 15,483 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Westlake were worth $1,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WLK. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 6,868 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $802,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Westlake during the first quarter valued at $1,133,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its position in Westlake by 497.5% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 42,043 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,911,000 after acquiring an additional 35,006 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 219.4% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 955 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 53.6% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 50,715 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,750,000 after acquiring an additional 17,689 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $77.10 on Thursday. Westlake Corporation has a 52-week low of $56.33 and a 52-week high of $124.23. The stock has a market cap of $9.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.07 and a beta of 0.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $81.80 and its 200 day moving average is $94.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.31) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Westlake Corporation will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. Westlake’s payout ratio is presently -16.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on WLK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Westlake in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Mizuho cut their target price on Westlake from $110.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Westlake from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Westlake from $104.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Westlake presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.64.

Westlake Company 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.