Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $88.0714.

WLK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho set a $90.00 price objective on Westlake and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $83.00 price target (down previously from $91.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Tuesday. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group set a $93.00 price objective on Westlake and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $87.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Westlake by 251.1% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 316 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Westlake by 127.1% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 427 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in Westlake by 3,005.6% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 559 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Westlake by 107.0% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 565 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Price Performance

NYSE WLK opened at $66.81 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $80.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.60. Westlake has a 52 week low of $65.77 and a 52 week high of $139.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -126.05 and a beta of 0.95.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.47). Westlake had a negative net margin of 0.57% and a positive return on equity of 1.26%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This is a positive change from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Westlake’s payout ratio is -28.57%.

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.