Analysts Set Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) Price Target at $110.43

Shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $110.4286.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 target price (down from $145.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group set a $130.00 target price on shares of Westlake and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Westlake from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $119.00 price objective on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, April 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total value of $1,756,916.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 44,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,484,178.36. This trade represents a 28.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Westlake by 28.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 236,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,685,000 after buying an additional 52,551 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its stake in Westlake by 149.2% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 17,681 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,065,000 after buying an additional 10,586 shares during the last quarter. Amundi purchased a new stake in Westlake in the 1st quarter valued at about $233,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Westlake by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 44,459 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,194,000 after buying an additional 8,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Westlake by 21.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 103,951 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $12,144,000 after buying an additional 18,681 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Trading Up 0.6%

WLK opened at $88.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.56. Westlake has a fifty-two week low of $56.33 and a fifty-two week high of $124.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.35 billion, a PE ratio of -6.98 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s 50-day moving average is $108.76 and its 200 day moving average is $90.60.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.67). Westlake had a negative return on equity of 1.89% and a negative net margin of 14.91%.The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.31) EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Westlake will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -16.69%.

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.