Brokerages Set Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) PT at $145.79

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $145.79.

WLK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft 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 note on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America upgraded 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 note on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th.

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE WLK opened at $150.95 on Friday. Westlake has a twelve month low of $103.28 and a twelve month high of $162.64. The stock has a market cap of $19.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.80, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

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

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.05%.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In other news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total transaction of $560,371.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,055,308. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, 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 transaction of $560,371.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,055,308. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total value of $667,764.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,893,632.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,658 shares of company stock worth $1,923,225 in the last ninety days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Westlake during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Westlake in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Westlake by 55.9% during the third 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 599 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.