Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Hits New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $65.38 and last traded at $65.78, with a volume of 931399 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $66.78.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WLK has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $83.00 target price (down from $91.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Westlake from $98.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note 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, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Westlake from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Mizuho set a $90.00 price objective on Westlake and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.07.

Westlake Stock Down 1.5%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.47. The stock has a market cap of $8.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -124.11 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. Westlake’s payout ratio is presently -28.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Huntington National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 251.1% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 127.1% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 427 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 107.0% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 565 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 54.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 567 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during 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.