Westlake Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:WLK)

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors bought 11,881 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,867% compared to the typical volume of 604 put options.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In other Westlake news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,534 shares in the company, valued at $1,239,420. This represents a 15.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Westlake by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 8,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the 2nd quarter valued at about $66,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the 3rd quarter valued at about $75,000. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Up 1.6 %

WLK stock traded up $1.78 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $111.82. The company had a trading volume of 242,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 549,106. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. Westlake has a 52 week low of $108.95 and a 52 week high of $162.64. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.60. The company has a market capitalization of $14.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 157.49, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.18.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 295.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on WLK shares. Barclays upgraded Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group upgraded Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.85.

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.