Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Hits New 52-Week Low Following Weak Earnings

Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) reached a new 52-week low on Monday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $106.00 and last traded at $106.52, with a volume of 66819 shares. The stock had previously closed at $109.71.

The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.98). The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.72 EPS.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is 295.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WLK shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup raised Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Westlake from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.21.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total transaction of $225,890.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. The trade was a 18.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,877,973 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $444,610,000 after purchasing an additional 21,293 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Westlake by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,313,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $379,933,000 after buying an additional 574,068 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Westlake by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,198,710 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $180,154,000 after purchasing an additional 9,838 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 732.7% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 993,150 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $113,865,000 after acquiring an additional 873,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 983,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $112,711,000 after purchasing an additional 58,093 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $14.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 158.02, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.88.

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.