Bank of America Cuts Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $116.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective reduced by Bank of America from $134.00 to $116.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Truist Financial began coverage on Westlake in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $168.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.07.

Westlake Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE WLK opened at $110.37 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $113.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $14.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 155.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17. Westlake has a 12 month low of $104.74 and a 12 month high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WLK. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Westlake by 4.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 552,646 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $82,837,000 after purchasing an additional 23,558 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 59,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,822,000 after buying an additional 12,833 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 49,085 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,377,000 after acquiring an additional 6,476 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased 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 worth $11,242,000 after acquiring an additional 4,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in Westlake by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 79,178 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,078,000 after acquiring an additional 5,512 shares during the period. 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.