Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $110.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $125.00 to $110.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on WLK. Mizuho boosted their price target on Westlake from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $120.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen cut Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded Westlake from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.73.

Westlake Stock Down 3.7%

Shares of WLK opened at $93.77 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.17. Westlake has a one year low of $56.33 and a one year high of $124.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.38 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $111.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.45.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.31) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Westlake will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently -16.69%.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total value of $1,756,916.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,484,178.36. This represents a 28.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted 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 valued at $935,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted 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 valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted 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 valued at $2,136,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted 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 valued at $178,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted 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 valued at $802,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.