Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Hits New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) reached a new 52-week low 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.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on WLK. Piper Sandler cut Westlake from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. 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, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.21.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 247.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Westlake by 6,316.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Westlake by 1,668.2% during the 4th 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 raised its holdings in Westlake by 43.2% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 72.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Trading Down 3.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $12.70 billion, a PE ratio of 139.54, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $110.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.39.

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 net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

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