Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Sets New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday after Truist Financial lowered their price target on the stock from $166.00 to $155.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Westlake traded as low as $99.00 and last traded at $99.11, with a volume of 271196 shares. The stock had previously closed at $102.92.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group raised Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Westlake from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.21.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 1.1% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 7,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Westlake by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,024 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $454,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Westlake by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 49,085 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,377,000 after acquiring an additional 6,476 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Westlake by 2.0% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 17,281 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,597,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Westlake by 35.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 318,284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $47,835,000 after buying an additional 82,617 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Down 3.7 %

The business’s 50-day moving average is $110.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 139.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. 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 (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is 45.36%.

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.