Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target Raised to $100.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $70.00 to $100.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on WLK. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Westlake and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Westlake from $88.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up from $85.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Westlake in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Westlake in a research note on Friday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.80.

Westlake Stock Up 5.2%

Shares of WLK stock opened at $105.59 on Thursday. Westlake has a 1 year low of $56.33 and a 1 year high of $114.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.24. The business’s fifty day moving average is $87.02 and its 200-day moving average is $79.82. The stock has a market cap of $13.54 billion, a PE ratio of -9.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 45.50 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Westlake Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In other news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chairman owned 627,722 shares in the company, valued at $46,181,507.54. This represents a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Huntington National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Westlake in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Westlake in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 71.3% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 562 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 54.5% during 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 in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.