Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target Lowered to $132.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective cut by BMO Capital Markets from $157.00 to $132.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays cut their target price on Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Westlake from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.86.

Westlake Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of WLK stock opened at $112.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 158.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17. Westlake has a twelve month low of $104.74 and a twelve month high of $162.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $113.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.76.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for 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 company’s revenue 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 predict that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,004,758.72. This represents a 18.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 74.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Westlake by 1.1% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 7,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in Westlake by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 14,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Westlake by 43.2% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Westlake by 3.8% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its holdings in Westlake by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 4,877 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is 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.