Brokerages Set Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) PT at $153.15

Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $153.15.

Several equities analysts have commented on WLK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America raised shares of 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. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $146.36 on Thursday. Westlake has a 1 year low of $112.77 and a 1 year high of $162.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50-day moving average is $151.90 and its 200 day moving average is $146.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.83.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.69% and a net margin of 2.13%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.05 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Westlake’s payout ratio is 100.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.19, for a total value of $753,340.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,141,779.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 74.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,334,579 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $203,924,000 after purchasing an additional 22,743 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Westlake by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,142,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $159,917,000 after buying an additional 66,614 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Westlake during the fourth quarter worth $50,961,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Westlake by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 352,924 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,395,000 after acquiring an additional 8,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Appian Way Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Westlake in the 1st quarter worth $25,154,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by 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.