Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Receives $162.17 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $162.17.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America upgraded Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In other news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the 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 approximately $1,004,758.72. This represents a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 74.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in Westlake by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 40,613 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,104,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in Westlake by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 4,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Westlake by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 552,646 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $82,837,000 after purchasing an additional 23,558 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC increased its holdings in Westlake by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 812 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Stock Performance

WLK opened at $120.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $15.47 billion, a PE ratio of 169.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $132.60 and a 200-day moving average of $141.54. Westlake has a 52-week low of $118.64 and a 52-week high of $162.64. 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 (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). The company had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The business’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Westlake’s payout ratio is presently 295.77%.

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.