Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target Cut to $166.00 by Analysts at Truist Financial

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective cut by Truist Financial from $168.00 to $166.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

WLK has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group upgraded Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Westlake from $155.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.21.

Westlake Stock Up 2.4 %

WLK stock opened at $112.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.44 billion, a PE ratio of 158.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17. Westlake has a 52 week low of $104.74 and a 52 week high of $162.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $113.98 and a 200 day moving average of $128.88.

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

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently 295.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westlake

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total transaction of $225,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,758.72. This represents a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 732.7% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 993,150 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $113,865,000 after acquiring an additional 873,888 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Westlake by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,313,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $379,933,000 after purchasing an additional 574,068 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Westlake by 699.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 595,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $89,445,000 after purchasing an additional 520,669 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Westlake in the 4th quarter valued at $46,630,000. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP acquired a new stake in Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth $55,542,000. 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.