Analysts Set Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) PT at $166.00

Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $167.50.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays raised Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Westlake from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Friday, August 23rd.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $150.29 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $143.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.79. The stock has a market cap of $19.33 billion, a PE ratio of 75.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.61. Westlake has a one year low of $112.77 and a one year high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 2.27%. Westlake’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Westlake will post 7.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This is an increase from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 105.53%.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 106.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,311,836 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $183,605,000 after acquiring an additional 675,725 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the fourth quarter valued at about $50,961,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the second quarter valued at about $27,179,000. Appian Way Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the first quarter valued at about $25,154,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 3,330.4% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 150,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $23,802,000 after acquiring an additional 145,673 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Performance and Essential Materials and Housing and Infrastructure Products.