Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $107.3571.

A number of research firms have weighed in on WLK. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Westlake from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $108.00 to $127.00 in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $119.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday, April 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Westlake from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Friday, June 5th.

Westlake Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $87.16 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $102.15 and its 200 day moving average is $92.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $11.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.86 and a beta of 0.58. Westlake has a 52-week low of $56.33 and a 52-week high of $124.23.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.67). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. Westlake had a negative return on equity of 1.89% and a negative net margin of 14.91%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.31) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Westlake will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently -16.69%.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 90.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,687 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,869,000 after purchasing an additional 18,321 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Westlake by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 19,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,881,000 after acquiring an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in Westlake in the 1st quarter worth $211,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Westlake by 43.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,350 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in Westlake by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,788 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

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.