Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Receives $165.92 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $165.92.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Barclays upgraded Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 90.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 386,480 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $58,084,000 after acquiring an additional 183,666 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 10,410 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,565,000 after purchasing an additional 2,988 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 19,420 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,919,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new position in Westlake during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $292,000. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Westlake during the third quarter valued at $209,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK opened at $136.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.00. The firm has a market cap of $17.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.63, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.17. Westlake has a 1 year low of $112.77 and a 1 year high of $162.64.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.41. Westlake had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The firm had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Westlake will post 7.13 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. This is a boost from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Westlake’s payout ratio is 100.96%.

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.