Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $107.3571.

A number of analysts have commented on WLK shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Westlake from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $108.00 to $127.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK stock opened at $87.24 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.18 billion, a PE ratio of -6.87 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Westlake has a 12 month low of $56.33 and a 12 month high of $124.23.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.67). The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 14.91% and a negative return on equity of 1.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.31) EPS. Analysts forecast that Westlake will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently -16.69%.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 8,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $935,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 28,134 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,136,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $178,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 6,868 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $802,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

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.