Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Alembic Global Advisors set a $80.00 target price on Westlake in a report on Monday, November 17th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Westlake from $88.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their target price on Westlake from $92.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Westlake from $82.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Westlake from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Westlake presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.80.

Westlake Trading Up 5.2%

WLK stock opened at $105.59 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.02, a P/E/G ratio of 45.50 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $87.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Westlake has a fifty-two week low of $56.33 and a fifty-two week high of $114.75.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $1.22. Westlake had a negative net margin of 13.50% and a negative return on equity of 1.22%. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.06 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 3rd. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently -18.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.57, for a total value of $3,004,304.52. Following the sale, the chairman owned 627,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,181,507.54. The trade was a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Huntington National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Westlake during the third quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Westlake during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Westlake by 71.3% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 562 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.