Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Given New $124.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price raised by Citigroup from $100.00 to $124.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on WLK. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Westlake and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Westlake in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Westlake from $92.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Westlake from $88.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $83.00 price target (down from $91.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.80.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of WLK stock opened at $100.25 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $86.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $12.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.57, a P/E/G ratio of 51.89 and a beta of 0.91. Westlake has a 12 month low of $56.33 and a 12 month high of $114.75.

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

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 3rd. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently -18.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.57, for a total value of $3,004,304.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 627,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,181,507.54. This represents a 6.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Huntington National Bank acquired a new stake in Westlake in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Westlake in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Westlake during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 71.3% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 562 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in Westlake by 54.5% in the second 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Westlake

Here are the key news stories impacting Westlake this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $124 and put a Buy rating on WLK, implying roughly a 23.7% upside versus the current price. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: UBS bumped its target to $129 and reiterated a Buy rating, implying ~28.7% upside from the current price. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO Capital kept a Hold rating and $108 target, signaling balanced risk/reward despite cost-saving upside and a stronger Q4 EPS performance. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its target to $100 and set an Equal Weight rating (essentially neutral relative to current levels). Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Mizuho lifted its target to $97 and kept a Neutral rating, signaling limited near-term upside per that analyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Westlake reported Q4 results that beat EPS estimates but showed a quarterly loss, a revenue miss, and weaker volumes/pricing — factors that pressure near-term margins and likely explain investor caution. WLK Q4 Earnings Beat, Sales Miss

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.