Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK) Receives $90.54 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $90.54.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America reduced their target price on Westlake from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Westlake from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $76.00 price target (down from $95.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 2nd.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK stock opened at $76.42 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.63 and a quick ratio of 1.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $79.09 and a 200-day moving average of $98.14. Westlake has a one year low of $68.55 and a one year high of $153.34. The company has a market cap of $9.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.64, a P/E/G ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 0.91.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($1.01). The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 4.19% and a net margin of 3.23%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. Westlake’s payout ratio is 70.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Westlake by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 14,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,690,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 4,877 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 33.9% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 525 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Westlake by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 29,396 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,292,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.