Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Truist Financial

Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK) in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $168.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

WLK has been the topic of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group raised Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Westlake from $155.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com raised Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.79.

Westlake Stock Down 1.1 %

WLK stock opened at $115.75 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.90 billion, a PE ratio of 163.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 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. Westlake has a twelve month low of $108.95 and a twelve month high of $162.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $118.54 and its 200-day moving average is $133.12.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. Westlake’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Westlake’s payout ratio is 295.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total transaction of $225,890.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. This represents a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Westlake by 6,316.7% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Westlake by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 98,056 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $11,242,000 after purchasing an additional 4,088 shares during the period. 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 purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new position in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter worth $534,000. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services raised its position in shares of Westlake by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 6,400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $734,000 after buying an additional 484 shares in 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.