StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Rating) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday morning.
WLK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Westlake from $118.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, April 10th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $103.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. Piper Sandler upgraded Westlake from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $140.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $105.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Westlake from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Westlake has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $119.54.
Westlake Price Performance
Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $121.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.00 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $114.24 and its 200-day moving average is $110.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Westlake has a twelve month low of $81.29 and a twelve month high of $139.54.
Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $1.00. The firm had revenue of $3.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 18.19% and a net margin of 12.49%. The business’s revenue was down 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Westlake will post 9.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Westlake Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.357 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 28th. This represents a $1.43 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is 8.26%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 189.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 802,507 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $99,029,000 after purchasing an additional 524,828 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Westlake by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,012,486 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $103,820,000 after purchasing an additional 342,204 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,719,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $22,014,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,239,670 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $332,196,000 after purchasing an additional 221,020 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.79% of the company’s stock.
Westlake Company Profile
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Westlake Corp. Is a global diversified industrial company, which engages in the manufacturing and supplying of essential products. It operates through the Performance and Essential Materials, and Housing and Infrastructure Products segments. The Performance and Essential Materials segment includes Westlake North American Vinyls, Westlake North American Chlor-alkali and Derivatives, Westlake European and Asian Chlorovinyls, Westlake Olefins, Westlake Polyethylene, and Westlake Epoxy.
Further Reading
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