Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Given New $110.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price target raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $100.00 to $110.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on WLK. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $88.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Westlake from $82.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Westlake in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Westlake has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.80.

Westlake Stock Down 1.9%

Westlake stock opened at $112.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.33 billion, a PE ratio of -9.58 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.38. Westlake has a 12 month low of $56.33 and a 12 month high of $116.46.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $1.22. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. Westlake had a negative return on equity of 1.22% and a negative net margin of 13.50%.The business’s revenue was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.06 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -18.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 627,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,181,507.54. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction that occurred 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WLK. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 4,163,207 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Westlake during the 4th quarter worth about $160,548,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth about $104,314,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,035,851 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP grew its position in Westlake by 440.1% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 854,184 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $65,823,000 after acquiring an additional 696,029 shares in 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.