Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK) Receives $92.29 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $92.2857.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial cut their price target on Westlake from $117.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Westlake from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Westlake from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Westlake from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Westlake in the second quarter worth $104,314,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its holdings in Westlake by 246.0% in the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,456,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $110,621,000 after buying an additional 1,035,851 shares in the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $62,508,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 1st quarter worth approximately $72,974,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 366.7% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 901,229 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $90,150,000 after acquiring an additional 708,142 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $89.59 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.80. Westlake has a one year low of $68.55 and a one year high of $151.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -169.03 and a beta of 0.92.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.15). Westlake had a negative net margin of 0.57% and a positive return on equity of 1.26%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. Westlake’s quarterly revenue was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This is a positive change from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -400.00%.

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.