Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Sets New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $108.56 and last traded at $110.47, with a volume of 68284 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $114.27.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WLK. UBS Group upgraded Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup raised shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.79.

Westlake Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $117.46 and a 200-day moving average of $132.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 156.73, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). The company had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. Westlake’s payout ratio is 295.77%.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In other news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. The trade was a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Westlake by 4.6% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 5,737 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $831,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Westlake by 134.4% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,612 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 4,364 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,918,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in shares of Westlake by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 73,666 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $11,071,000 after purchasing an additional 6,838 shares during the period. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $75,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.