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

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $86.6667.

WLK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Alembic Global Advisors set a $80.00 price target on Westlake in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Westlake from $98.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Huntington National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Westlake in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Westlake by 107.0% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 565 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Westlake by 54.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 567 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 66.0% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 601 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK opened at $59.17 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.16. Westlake has a 12-month low of $56.33 and a 12-month high of $133.51. The firm has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a PE ratio of -111.64 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.47). Westlake had a positive return on equity of 1.26% and a negative net margin of 0.57%.The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 25th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently -28.57%.

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.