Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Given New $130.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $160.00 to $130.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

WLK has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.07.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK opened at $110.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 155.45, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $113.86 and a 200-day moving average of $128.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake has a 12-month low of $104.74 and a 12-month high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Westlake by 247.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Westlake by 6,316.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 1,668.2% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Westlake in the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

About Westlake

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.