Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target Cut to $135.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective trimmed by Barclays from $175.00 to $135.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Westlake in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $168.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upgraded shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $152.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.21.

Westlake Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of WLK opened at $112.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.44 billion, a PE ratio of 158.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s fifty day moving average is $113.98 and its 200 day moving average is $128.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. Westlake has a fifty-two week low of $104.74 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64.

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

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Westlake’s payout ratio is currently 295.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westlake news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total transaction of $225,890.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. This trade represents a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Westlake by 1.6% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 19,420 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,919,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Westlake by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 9,300 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,398,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth $205,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in Westlake by 1.5% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 27,813 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,179,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trajan Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Westlake in the third quarter valued at about $209,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.