Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $165.92.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WLK shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $174.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Piper Sandler lowered 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. Mizuho started coverage on Westlake in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th.

Westlake Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:WLK opened at $135.90 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $143.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.75. Westlake has a one year low of $112.77 and a one year high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 2.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Westlake will post 7.13 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. This is a boost from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.53%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,334,579 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $203,924,000 after purchasing an additional 22,743 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Westlake by 90.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 386,480 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $58,084,000 after buying an additional 183,666 shares during the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP boosted its stake in Westlake by 17.4% during the second quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 223,366 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,348,000 after buying an additional 33,100 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Westlake during the second quarter valued at $27,179,000. Finally, Appian Way Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the 1st quarter worth about $25,154,000. 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.