Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Hits New 52-Week Low on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday after Piper Sandler lowered their price target on the stock from $155.00 to $135.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Westlake traded as low as $108.95 and last traded at $109.83, with a volume of 17966 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $111.68.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on WLK. StockNews.com upgraded Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America raised Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays raised Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $156.92.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,239,420. This trade represents a 15.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 74.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Westlake by 8,400.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Westlake by 72.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Westlake by 84.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $14.22 billion, a PE ratio of 155.66, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $123.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.21. 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 (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The business’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently 295.77%.

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.