Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Hits New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on the stock from $103.00 to $94.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Westlake traded as low as $76.17 and last traded at $76.31, with a volume of 1858652 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $79.94.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Westlake from $122.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Westlake from $132.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Westlake has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.54.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WLK. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Westlake by 7.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 371,175 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,129,000 after purchasing an additional 24,386 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in Westlake in the first quarter worth about $211,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Westlake in the first quarter worth about $706,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Westlake by 10.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,041,190 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $104,150,000 after purchasing an additional 102,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Westlake by 22,982.4% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 48,473 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,849,000 after purchasing an additional 48,263 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $9.79 billion, a PE ratio of 107.48, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.75.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($1.01). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. Westlake’s payout ratio is 70.47%.

About Westlake

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.