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

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

WLK has been the topic of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.21.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK opened at $112.19 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $113.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.88. The stock has a market cap of $14.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 158.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17. Westlake has a one year low of $104.74 and a one year high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s payout ratio is presently 295.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westlake news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the business’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 transaction of $225,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. The trade was a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 74.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

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

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.