Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $154.85.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WLK shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $151.00 to $159.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the transaction, the director now 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 74.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Westlake by 247.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted 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 worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 72.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the third quarter valued at about $62,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE:WLK opened at $117.61 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $119.42 and its 200-day moving average is $133.77. Westlake has a 1-year low of $108.95 and a 1-year high of $162.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $15.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 165.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.18.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share 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%. The company’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 295.77%.

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.