Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target Raised to $153.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective boosted by Royal Bank of Canada from $134.00 to $153.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

WLK has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup raised their target price on Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America raised Westlake from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Westlake from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $145.79.

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE WLK opened at $149.68 on Friday. Westlake has a 1-year low of $103.28 and a 1-year high of $162.64. The company has a market cap of $19.19 billion, a PE ratio of 40.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $146.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.65.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.09). Westlake had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 3.82%. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.79 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total transaction of $667,764.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,893,632.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total transaction of $560,371.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,055,308. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total value of $667,764.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,893,632.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,658 shares of company stock valued at $1,923,225. 74.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in Westlake in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,492,000. Aviva PLC increased its stake in Westlake by 66.8% in the 3rd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 119,377 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $14,883,000 after purchasing an additional 47,799 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Westlake by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,260 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in Westlake in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $790,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Westlake by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,630,975 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $577,344,000 after purchasing an additional 96,152 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.