Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Given New $82.00 Price Target at Mizuho

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective reduced by Mizuho from $100.00 to $82.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on WLK. Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $117.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.85.

Westlake Stock Down 1.7%

WLK stock opened at $69.83 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake has a 1 year low of $68.67 and a 1 year high of $160.96. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.86. The firm has a market cap of $8.95 billion, a PE ratio of 98.35, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($1.01). The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Westlake’s payout ratio is 70.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WLK. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in Westlake by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 14,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,690,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its stake in Westlake by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 4,877 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Westlake by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $572,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 33.9% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 525 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Westlake by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.