Truist Financial Cuts Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $104.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price trimmed by Truist Financial from $127.00 to $104.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on WLK. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $106.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $104.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.64.

Westlake Trading Up 1.2%

WLK opened at $77.10 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Westlake has a 52 week low of $56.33 and a 52 week high of $124.23. The stock has a market cap of $9.88 billion, a PE ratio of -6.07 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50 day moving average of $81.80 and a 200-day moving average of $94.58.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.67). The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. Westlake had a negative return on equity of 1.89% and a negative net margin of 14.91%.Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.31) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Westlake will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently -16.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Westlake by 90.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,687 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,869,000 after acquiring an additional 18,321 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 19,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Westlake during the 1st quarter valued at $211,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 43.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,350 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 18.2% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,788 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.