Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

StockNews.com cut shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on WLK. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group upgraded Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Westlake from $168.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.86.

Westlake Trading Up 0.4 %

Westlake stock opened at $112.52 on Wednesday. Westlake has a one year low of $104.74 and a one year high of $162.64. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $113.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The company has a market capitalization of $14.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 158.47, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Westlake by 247.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 6,316.7% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Westlake by 1,668.2% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 43.2% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Westlake by 72.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.