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

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading 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 traded. The stock had previously closed at $102.92.

WLK has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup raised shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.21.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Westlake by 1.1% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 7,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of Westlake by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 14,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,690,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 43.2% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its position in Westlake by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 4,877 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Westlake by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $572,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $12.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 139.54, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.39.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

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