Mizuho Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Price

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price target lowered by Mizuho from $100.00 to $82.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Westlake from $122.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. BMO Capital Markets set a $94.00 price objective on shares of Westlake and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.85.

Westlake Trading Down 1.7%

WLK opened at $69.83 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $85.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. The firm has a market cap of $8.95 billion, a PE ratio of 98.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. Westlake has a twelve month low of $68.67 and a twelve month high of $160.96.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($1.01). The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Westlake by 247.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Westlake by 251.1% in 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 period. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Westlake by 127.1% in 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 period. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Westlake by 6,316.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Westlake by 1,668.2% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

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.