Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays lowered their target price on Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.00.

Westlake Price Performance

Westlake stock opened at $102.93 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $13.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 144.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $110.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.39. Westlake has a 52 week low of $99.18 and a 52 week high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s payout ratio is 45.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Westlake by 247.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in 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. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 6,316.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Westlake by 1,668.2% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Westlake during the third quarter valued at about $62,000. Hedge funds and other 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.