Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target Lowered to $135.00 at Piper Sandler

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price lowered by Piper Sandler from $155.00 to $135.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays raised shares of Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America raised Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised 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 research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $156.92.

Westlake Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $111.69 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $123.50 and its 200 day moving average is $136.39. Westlake has a one year low of $110.76 and a one year high of $162.64. The firm has a market cap of $14.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 157.31, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by ($0.80). The business 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%. Westlake’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 295.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $225,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 74.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in Westlake by 8,400.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Westlake by 72.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Westlake by 84.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. 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.