Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Lifted to Neutral at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK) from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $159.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $151.00.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Westlake from $174.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $165.92.

Westlake Price Performance

NYSE:WLK opened at $139.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.99, a PEG ratio of 1.86 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 50 day simple moving average of $143.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.34. Westlake has a 1 year low of $112.77 and a 1 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. Westlake had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. Westlake’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Westlake will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is an increase from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.96%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WLK. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in Westlake by 30.2% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,145 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Westlake in the 1st quarter worth $420,000. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 3,302 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC bought a new stake in Westlake during the first quarter valued at about $1,273,000. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System grew its stake in Westlake by 2.3% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 8,800 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,345,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 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.