Analysts Set Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) PT at $155.79

Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $140.07.

WLK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group upgraded Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 19,420 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,919,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Westlake during the 3rd quarter valued at about $15,295,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in Westlake by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 9,300 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Westlake during the 3rd quarter valued at about $205,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in Westlake by 1.5% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $110.37 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $113.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.64. The company has a market capitalization of $14.21 billion, a PE ratio of 155.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake has a 52 week low of $104.74 and a 52 week high of $162.64.

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

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.36%.

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.