Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Short Interest Update

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,010,000 shares, a growth of 30.5% from the February 28th total of 1,540,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 687,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Currently, 6.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Westlake Stock Performance

WLK stock traded up $1.98 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $101.96. The company had a trading volume of 501,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 697,657. Westlake has a twelve month low of $97.36 and a twelve month high of $162.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. The company has a market cap of $13.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 143.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.41.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WLK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered Westlake from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $120.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $166.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.21.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 247.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 6,316.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Westlake by 1,668.2% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Westlake by 72.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.