Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Hits New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after Piper Sandler lowered their price target on the stock from $155.00 to $135.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Westlake traded as low as $108.95 and last traded at $109.83, with a volume of 17966 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $111.68.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on WLK. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $152.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $156.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westlake news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. The trade was a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 74.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WLK. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Westlake by 43.2% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 8,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 72.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Westlake by 84.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Westlake during the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Down 1.0 %

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $123.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 155.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.18.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by ($0.80). The company had revenue of $3.12 billion during 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%. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is 295.77%.

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.