Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target Lowered to $93.00 at Citigroup

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price target trimmed by Citigroup from $100.00 to $93.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WLK. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Westlake from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Westlake from $101.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Westlake from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.50.

Westlake Stock Up 4.1%

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $79.90 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business has a fifty day moving average of $83.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.88. The stock has a market cap of $10.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -150.75 and a beta of 0.93. Westlake has a 52-week low of $68.55 and a 52-week high of $149.34.

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

Westlake Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. This is a positive change from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently -400.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

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