Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target Cut to $166.00 by Analysts at Truist Financial

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective trimmed by Truist Financial from $168.00 to $166.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup upgraded Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.21.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK opened at $112.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $113.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake has a twelve month low of $104.74 and a twelve month high of $162.64. The company has a market capitalization of $14.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 158.02, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17.

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 firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. This trade represents a 18.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Westlake by 247.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 6,316.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Westlake by 1,668.2% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 72.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.