Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Lifted to Overweight at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report report published on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Barclays currently has $180.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $162.00.

WLK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Mizuho started coverage on Westlake in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. They issued an outperform rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $167.50.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $147.38 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The firm has a market cap of $18.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $143.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.81. Westlake has a one year low of $112.77 and a one year high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.41. Westlake had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The business had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Westlake will post 7.13 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This is an increase from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 105.53%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Westlake during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 8,400.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Westlake in the second quarter worth $66,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Westlake by 66.7% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth $101,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

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.