Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $97.7333.

Several brokerages recently commented on WLK. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a report on Friday, January 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Westlake from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $80.00 price objective on Westlake in a report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group upped their target price on Westlake from $92.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Westlake in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th.

Westlake Trading Up 3.1%

WLK stock opened at $106.43 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $90.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.68. Westlake has a one year low of $56.33 and a one year high of $113.51. The stock has a market cap of $13.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.10 and a beta of 0.83.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $1.22. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 13.50% and a negative return on equity of 1.22%. The company’s revenue was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.06 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -18.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.57, for a total value of $3,004,304.52. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 627,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,181,507.54. This represents a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total transaction of $1,756,916.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,484,178.36. This represents a 28.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Westlake by 11.8% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,433 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 0.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 28,134 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,136,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its position in Westlake by 4.1% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 5,020 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in Westlake by 54.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 567 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying 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.