Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target Raised to $139.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price boosted by UBS Group from $129.00 to $139.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on WLK. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Westlake from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $108.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Westlake in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Westlake from $82.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Westlake from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.47.

Westlake Trading Down 4.7%

Shares of WLK stock opened at $106.02 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Westlake has a fifty-two week low of $56.33 and a fifty-two week high of $116.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $96.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.19. The stock has a market cap of $13.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.06 and a beta of 0.83.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $1.22. Westlake had a negative net margin of 13.50% and a negative return on equity of 1.22%. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.06 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -18.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total transaction of $1,756,916.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 44,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,484,178.36. This trade represents a 28.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.57, for a total transaction of $3,004,304.52. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 627,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,181,507.54. This represents a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Westlake by 7,239.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,220,717 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $312,080,000 after purchasing an additional 4,163,207 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Westlake in the 4th quarter worth about $160,548,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth about $104,314,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 246.0% during the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,456,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $110,621,000 after buying an additional 1,035,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 440.1% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 854,184 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $65,823,000 after buying an additional 696,029 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corp. is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, polymers and building products, serving customers across industrial and residential markets. The company’s core operations encompass the production of vinyls—primarily polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and its key feedstock vinyl chloride monomer (VCM)—as well as chlor-alkali products including caustic soda and chlorine. In addition, Westlake produces ethylene, propylene and specialty elastomers, along with construction-related materials such as vinyl siding, trim, windows and roofing systems.

Operating a network of vertically integrated plants and distribution centers, Westlake serves markets in North America, Europe and Asia.