Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) Receives $110.43 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $110.4286.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Westlake from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $108.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. UBS Group set a $130.00 price target on shares of Westlake and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Westlake from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $119.00 price target on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Westlake from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK stock opened at $88.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.36 billion, a PE ratio of -6.98 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Westlake has a 12 month low of $56.33 and a 12 month high of $124.23. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $109.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.34.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.67). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 14.91% and a negative return on equity of 1.89%. Westlake’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.31) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. Westlake’s payout ratio is -16.69%.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In related news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total transaction of $1,756,916.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,433 shares in the company, valued at $4,484,178.36. The trade was a 28.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Westlake by 71.3% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 562 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake during the third quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Westlake by 180.3% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corp. is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, polymers and building products, serving customers across industrial and residential markets. The company’s core operations encompass the production of vinyls—primarily polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and its key feedstock vinyl chloride monomer (VCM)—as well as chlor-alkali products including caustic soda and chlorine. In addition, Westlake produces ethylene, propylene and specialty elastomers, along with construction-related materials such as vinyl siding, trim, windows and roofing systems.

Operating a network of vertically integrated plants and distribution centers, Westlake serves markets in North America, Europe and Asia.