Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $145.79.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Vertical Research downgraded Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $154.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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. Barclays increased their price objective on Westlake from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th.

Westlake Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $149.18 on Friday. Westlake has a 1 year low of $103.28 and a 1 year high of $162.64. The business has a 50-day moving average of $147.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.81. The company has a market capitalization of $19.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 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.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.09). Westlake had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 3.82%. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is 54.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westlake

In other Westlake news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total value of $560,371.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares in the company, valued at $3,055,308. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.02, for a total value of $677,460.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,389,052.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total value of $560,371.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,658 shares of company stock worth $1,923,225 over the last ninety days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Westlake during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Westlake by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Westlake during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Westlake by 55.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 354 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Westlake by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 599 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.