The Goldman Sachs Group Cuts Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $95.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLKFree Report) had its target price lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group from $130.00 to $95.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $116.00 to $75.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.92.

View Our Latest Research Report on WLK

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE:WLK opened at $80.42 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $95.84 and its 200-day moving average is $111.78. Westlake has a 1-year low of $76.97 and a 1-year high of $161.31. 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 stock has a market cap of $10.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 113.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03.

Westlake (NYSE:WLKGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Westlake by 247.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 251.1% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 316 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 127.1% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 427 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Westlake by 6,316.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Westlake by 1,668.2% in the 4th 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 last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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