UBS Group Trims Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Target Price to $160.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price reduced by UBS Group from $172.00 to $160.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Vertical Research cut shares of Westlake from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $154.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westlake from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday, July 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and set a $158.00 price target on shares of Westlake in a report on Friday, June 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $153.15.

Westlake Trading Up 3.4 %

NYSE WLK opened at $146.13 on Tuesday. Westlake has a twelve month low of $112.77 and a twelve month high of $162.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.46. The stock has a market cap of $18.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.43, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $152.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.80.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.25. Westlake had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 7.69%. The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.05 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.19, for a total transaction of $753,340.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 40,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,141,779.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WLK. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Westlake in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Westlake by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Westlake in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Westlake in the first quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in Westlake by 66.7% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

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.