Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target Lowered to $104.00 at Truist Financial

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price target decreased by Truist Financial from $127.00 to $104.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on WLK. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.64.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $76.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.17. The firm has a market cap of $9.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.05 and a beta of 0.62. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.54. Westlake has a 52 week low of $56.33 and a 52 week high of $124.23.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 14.91% and a negative return on equity of 1.89%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.31) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Westlake will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently -16.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WLK. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 1.3% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 8,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $935,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Westlake by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Westlake by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 28,134 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,136,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Westlake by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $178,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Westlake by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 6,868 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $802,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.