Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Now Covered by Analysts at Truist Financial

Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK) in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $168.00 target price on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com raised Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup raised Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.79.

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE:WLK opened at $116.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $133.36. 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 has a 52-week low of $108.95 and a 52-week high of $162.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.06 billion, a PE ratio of 164.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.18.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. Westlake’s payout ratio is currently 295.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total transaction of $225,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 106.5% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 21,501 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,465,000 after buying an additional 11,091 shares during the period. Optas LLC bought a new position in Westlake in the 4th quarter valued at $206,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its stake in Westlake by 88.3% in the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 18,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,154,000 after purchasing an additional 8,813 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 27,255 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,125,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

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.