Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $91.9286.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WLK shares. Bank of America reduced their price target on Westlake from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Westlake from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Westlake from $100.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Tudor Pickering upgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Westlake from $101.00 to $99.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th.

Westlake Trading Up 3.2%

Westlake stock opened at $82.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Westlake has a 52 week low of $68.55 and a 52 week high of $149.34. The company has a market capitalization of $10.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -155.48 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.72.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. Westlake had a positive return on equity of 1.26% and a negative net margin of 0.57%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -400.00%.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Huntington National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Westlake by 251.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Westlake by 127.1% in 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 in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Westlake by 107.0% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 565 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Westlake by 54.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 567 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.