Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $89.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $110.00 to $89.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on WLK. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Westlake from $127.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Westlake from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Westlake from $110.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Westlake from $104.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Westlake from $106.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.92.

Westlake Price Performance

Westlake stock opened at $77.58 on Wednesday. Westlake has a 12-month low of $56.33 and a 12-month high of $124.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $78.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.92 billion, a PE ratio of -8.10 and a beta of 0.63.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.18. Westlake had a negative net margin of 10.94% and a positive return on equity of 0.93%. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.11) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Westlake will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -22.13%.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Westlake during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,062,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Westlake by 53.6% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 50,715 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,750,000 after buying an additional 17,689 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its holdings in Westlake by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 204,226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $15,100,000 after buying an additional 15,217 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new stake in Westlake during the fourth quarter worth $798,000. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its position in Westlake by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 648,012 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $47,914,000 after acquiring an additional 87,532 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

About Westlake

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.