Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

WLK has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on 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 reduced their price target on Westlake from $106.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $104.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.79.

Westlake Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of WLK stock traded up $1.75 on Monday, hitting $76.55. The stock had a trading volume of 402,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,255,122. Westlake has a one year low of $56.33 and a one year high of $124.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $88.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.37. The company has a market cap of $9.81 billion, a PE ratio of -6.04 and a beta of 0.62. 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 (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.67). Westlake had a negative net margin of 14.91% and a negative return on equity of 1.89%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.31) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -16.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WLK. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position 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. raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 0.6% during 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 last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in 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 worth $802,000 after acquiring 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.