Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target Cut to $170.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price target reduced by Royal Bank of Canada from $174.00 to $170.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on WLK. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Westlake in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. They set an outperform rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays upgraded Westlake from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and raised their target price for the company from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $167.17.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $144.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.54 billion, a PE ratio of 69.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $148.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake has a 12-month low of $112.77 and a 12-month high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.41. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 2.27%. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. Westlake’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Westlake will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. This is a positive change from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Westlake’s payout ratio is currently 100.96%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC purchased a new position in Westlake in the 1st quarter worth about $1,273,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,254,000. Comerica Bank raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 17.9% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 24,490 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,742,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Westlake in the second quarter worth approximately $544,000. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Westlake in the first quarter worth approximately $207,000. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

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.