Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Cut to “Neutral” at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler lowered shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $120.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $135.00.

WLK has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.21.

Westlake Trading Down 3.7 %

WLK opened at $99.09 on Wednesday. Westlake has a 1-year low of $98.51 and a 1-year high of $162.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a PE ratio of 139.57, a PEG ratio of 2.36 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $110.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $123.12.

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

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 42,934 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,922,000 after buying an additional 2,281 shares during the period. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter valued at about $300,000. Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,393 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in Westlake by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 5,190 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Westlake by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 346,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $39,759,000 after buying an additional 28,505 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.