Brokerages Set Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Price Target at $159.83

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $156.92.

WLK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America raised Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup upgraded Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays upgraded shares of Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total transaction of $225,890.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,004,758.72. This trade represents a 18.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 74.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WLK. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Westlake by 9.3% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,166 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Westlake in the second quarter valued at about $544,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Westlake by 19.0% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 112,388 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $16,276,000 after purchasing an additional 17,916 shares in the last quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Westlake during the second quarter worth about $800,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Westlake during the second quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK stock opened at $110.52 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $123.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.39. The company has a market capitalization of $14.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 155.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.18. 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 1-year low of $108.95 and a 1-year high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by ($0.80). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is 295.77%.

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.