Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $166.00.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Westlake from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Westlake from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK stock opened at $145.21 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $143.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $148.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake has a 12-month low of $112.77 and a 12-month high of $162.64. The company has a market capitalization of $18.67 billion, a PE ratio of 72.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 2.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 7.13 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a positive change from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. Westlake’s payout ratio is 105.53%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. RiverFront Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Westlake during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,159,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Westlake by 134.4% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,612 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,102,000 after buying an additional 4,364 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Westlake during the second quarter worth about $10,302,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Westlake in the second quarter worth about $217,000. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 4.6% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 5,737 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $831,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.