Impala Asset Management LLC Makes New $8.86 Million Investment in Westlake Corporation $WLK

Impala Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 115,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,862,000. Westlake makes up about 6.0% of Impala Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WLK. Huntington National Bank purchased a new position in Westlake in the second quarter valued at $26,000. CWM LLC raised its position in Westlake by 54.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 567 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of Westlake by 989.6% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 730 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 663 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Westlake by 180.3% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Westlake by 49.6% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 745 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Westlake from $88.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised Westlake from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $108.00 to $127.00 in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Westlake from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Alembic Global Advisors set a $80.00 price objective on Westlake in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total transaction of $1,756,916.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,484,178.36. This trade represents a 28.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.57, for a total transaction of $3,004,304.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 627,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,181,507.54. The trade was a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK stock opened at $105.45 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $89.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.24. Westlake Corporation has a 1 year low of $56.33 and a 1 year high of $113.51. The firm has a market cap of $13.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.01, a PEG ratio of 36.31 and a beta of 0.83.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $1.22. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.61 billion. Westlake had a negative return on equity of 1.22% and a negative net margin of 13.50%.The business’s revenue was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.06 EPS. Analysts predict that Westlake Corporation will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -18.12%.

About Westlake

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.