Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $166.83.

WLK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th.

Westlake Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE WLK opened at $145.03 on Friday. Westlake has a 12-month low of $112.77 and a 12-month high of $162.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $148.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $18.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.20.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 2.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.31 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This is a positive change from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 20th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Westlake in the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in Westlake by 8,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the second quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 66.7% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

About Westlake

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.