Truist Financial Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Price

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective reduced by Truist Financial from $166.00 to $155.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup raised shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.21.

Westlake Stock Performance

WLK opened at $99.09 on Friday. Westlake has a 1-year low of $98.51 and a 1-year high of $162.64. The company has a market cap of $12.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 139.57, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $110.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.98). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Westlake by 1.1% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 7,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Westlake by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,024 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Westlake during the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 15.2% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 49,085 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,377,000 after acquiring an additional 6,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 2.0% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 17,281 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,597,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.