Insider Selling: Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Director Sells 1,750 Shares of Stock

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. This represents a 18.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

David Tsung-Hung Chao also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, November 22nd, David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of Westlake stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $227,500.00.

Westlake Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of WLK stock traded down $0.96 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $127.44. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 180,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 444,949. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.40 billion, a PE ratio of 179.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.46. Westlake Co. has a 12-month low of $118.64 and a 12-month high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). The company had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 295.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 4,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 4.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 552,646 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $82,837,000 after acquiring an additional 23,558 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Wahed Invest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 26.5% in the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 812 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Westlake by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,198,710 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $180,154,000 after purchasing an additional 9,838 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WLK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.17.

About Westlake

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.