Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Receives $140.07 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $140.07.

A number of research firms have commented on WLK. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group raised shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Westlake Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:WLK opened at $101.18 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake has a 12 month low of $99.37 and a 12 month high of $162.64. The company has a market cap of $12.97 billion, a PE ratio of 142.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.67.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.98). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Westlake in the 4th quarter worth $300,000. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in Westlake by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,393 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in Westlake by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 5,190 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Westlake by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 346,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $39,759,000 after purchasing an additional 28,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Westlake by 3,182.3% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 219,030 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $25,112,000 after purchasing an additional 212,357 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.