Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $86.4667.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial set a $90.00 price objective on Westlake and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Alembic Global Advisors set a $80.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a research report on Monday, November 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Westlake from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $83.00 price objective (down from $91.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 target price (up from $75.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Thursday, December 18th.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $83.19 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.99. The company has a market capitalization of $10.67 billion, a PE ratio of -11.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 24.41 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.10 and a 200-day moving average of $77.21. Westlake has a one year low of $56.33 and a one year high of $119.86.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.47). Westlake had a negative return on equity of 0.78% and a negative net margin of 8.34%.The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 25th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 25th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently -28.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Westlake news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.57, for a total transaction of $3,004,304.52. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 627,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,181,507.54. The trade was a 6.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Westlake by 11.8% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,433 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 28,134 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,136,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 5,020 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 54.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 567 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 49.9% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 640 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corp. is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, polymers and building products, serving customers across industrial and residential markets. The company’s core operations encompass the production of vinyls—primarily polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and its key feedstock vinyl chloride monomer (VCM)—as well as chlor-alkali products including caustic soda and chlorine. In addition, Westlake produces ethylene, propylene and specialty elastomers, along with construction-related materials such as vinyl siding, trim, windows and roofing systems.

Operating a network of vertically integrated plants and distribution centers, Westlake serves markets in North America, Europe and Asia.