UBS Group Cuts Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $127.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price target reduced by UBS Group from $144.00 to $127.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on WLK. Barclays decreased their price objective on Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $166.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price objective (down from $120.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com cut Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.15.

Westlake Stock Up 13.1 %

WLK opened at $93.96 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $119.75. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $12.07 billion, a PE ratio of 132.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. Westlake has a 52 week low of $81.41 and a 52 week high of $161.31.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued 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 business 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. Analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Westlake’s payout ratio is 45.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Westlake by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 98,056 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $11,242,000 after purchasing an additional 4,088 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Westlake by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 236,354 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,098,000 after acquiring an additional 11,992 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 59,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,822,000 after acquiring an additional 12,833 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 4.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 552,646 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $82,837,000 after buying an additional 23,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Westlake by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,313,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $379,933,000 after acquiring an additional 574,068 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

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.