Brokerages Set Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Target Price at $145.79

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $145.79.

WLK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Vertical Research cut Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $154.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westlake

In related news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,893,632.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total transaction of $560,371.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,658 shares of company stock worth $1,923,225 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. FORA Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Westlake by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 5,019 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $767,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Westlake by 8.3% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Westlake by 81.4% in the first quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,195 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $947,000 after acquiring an additional 2,779 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Westlake by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 56,343 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $8,609,000 after purchasing an additional 2,839 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Westlake by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 42,589 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $152.29 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $148.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.09. Westlake has a one year low of $103.28 and a one year high of $162.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.52 billion, a PE ratio of 76.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 7.69%. The company’s revenue was down 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.05 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.73 EPS for the current 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 yield of 1.31%. Westlake’s payout ratio is 100.50%.

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.