Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK – Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders purchased 11,881 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,867% compared to the average daily volume of 604 put options.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Westlake news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was 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 owns 7,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,004,758.72. This represents a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 74.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WLK. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 8,400.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Westlake during the third quarter worth about $62,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 2nd quarter worth about $66,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Westlake in the 3rd quarter valued at about $75,000. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.
Westlake Stock Performance
Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.
Westlake Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Westlake’s payout ratio is currently 295.77%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts recently commented on WLK shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group upgraded Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.85.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on WLK
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.
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