Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $162.17.

WLK has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays raised Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th.

Westlake Stock Performance

Westlake stock opened at $124.34 on Friday. Westlake has a fifty-two week low of $118.64 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64. The company has a market capitalization of $16.00 billion, a PE ratio of 175.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $134.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently 295.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westlake

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,534 shares in the company, valued at $1,239,420. This represents a 15.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 74.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Westlake during the second quarter worth about $544,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,179,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 89.8% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 44,194 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,400,000 after purchasing an additional 20,913 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 134.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,612 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 4,364 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake during the second quarter worth $513,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.