Insider Selling: Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Chairman Sells $3,120,724.44 in Stock

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total transaction of $3,120,724.44. Following the sale, the chairman owned 642,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,610,406.40. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WLK traded up $1.69 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $80.78. The company had a trading volume of 1,023,727 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,247,725. Westlake Corporation has a one year low of $56.33 and a one year high of $124.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $78.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.87. The firm has a market cap of $10.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.43 and a beta of 0.63.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.18. Westlake had a positive return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 10.94%.The business had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.11) earnings per share. Westlake’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Westlake Corporation will post 3.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently -22.13%.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $223,000. Robotti Robert bought a new position in Westlake in the 2nd quarter valued at $17,183,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter valued at $240,474,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Westlake in the second quarter worth $158,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Westlake in the second quarter worth $1,234,000. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $127.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Westlake from $106.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.92.

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.