Mizuho Issues Positive Forecast for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Price

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective upped by Mizuho from $97.00 to $110.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on WLK. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Westlake from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $108.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Westlake from $129.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Westlake from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Westlake from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.33.

Westlake Price Performance

NYSE:WLK opened at $108.56 on Monday. Westlake has a one year low of $56.33 and a one year high of $116.46. The stock has a market cap of $13.89 billion, a PE ratio of -9.28 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $97.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.29.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $1.22. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.06 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently -18.12%.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total value of $1,756,916.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,433 shares in the company, valued at $4,484,178.36. The trade was a 28.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Westlake in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Westlake by 71.3% during the 4th 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. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Westlake by 180.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

About Westlake

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.