Westlake Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:WLK)

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 12,306 put options on the company. This is an increase of 1,726% compared to the typical daily volume of 674 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Westlake by 247.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its position 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 worth $45,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 1,668.2% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in Westlake by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 72.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Westlake Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of Westlake stock traded up $2.15 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $103.04. 262,451 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 688,189. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $112.03 and a 200-day moving average of $124.16. Westlake has a 12 month low of $99.18 and a 12 month high of $162.64. The company has a market cap of $13.21 billion, a PE ratio of 145.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79.

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Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. Westlake's payout ratio is 45.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on WLK shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $168.00 to $166.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.07.

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.