Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $159.83.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WLK. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays upgraded shares of Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK stock opened at $113.62 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $123.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.64. Westlake has a one year low of $110.76 and a one year high of $162.64. The stock has a market cap of $14.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 160.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 295.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. The trade was a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 8,400.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 72.0% during 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. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 84.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.