The Goldman Sachs Group Lowers Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $95.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price cut by The Goldman Sachs Group from $130.00 to $95.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on WLK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Westlake from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $75.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.92.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $80.42 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake has a 12 month low of $76.97 and a 12 month high of $161.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 113.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($1.01). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. Westlake’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 247.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Westlake by 251.1% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 316 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Westlake by 127.1% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 427 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Westlake by 6,316.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 1,668.2% in the 4th 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. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.