UBS Group Lowers Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $127.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price target lowered by UBS Group from $144.00 to $127.00 in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on WLK. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $166.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.21.

Westlake Price Performance

Westlake stock opened at $86.18 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $11.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 121.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $107.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.98. 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 $82.33 and a 12-month high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. Westlake’s payout ratio is 45.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WLK. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 732.7% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 993,150 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $113,865,000 after purchasing an additional 873,888 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Westlake by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,313,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $379,933,000 after buying an additional 574,068 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter worth $46,630,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 56.8% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 827,516 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $94,875,000 after acquiring an additional 299,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 348.8% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 364,274 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $41,327,000 after acquiring an additional 283,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.