Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target Raised to $127.00 at Truist Financial

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective lifted by Truist Financial from $117.00 to $127.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised Westlake from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Mizuho increased their target price on Westlake from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets raised Westlake from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $108.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Westlake in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Westlake in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.20.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK stock opened at $113.13 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $14.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.67 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $98.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.90. Westlake has a one year low of $56.33 and a one year high of $116.46.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. Westlake’s payout ratio is -18.12%.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In related 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 transaction of $1,756,916.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,484,178.36. The trade was a 28.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 90.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,687 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,869,000 after acquiring an additional 18,321 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Westlake by 9.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 19,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Westlake during the first quarter worth approximately $211,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Westlake by 11.8% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,433 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its holdings in Westlake by 4.1% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 5,020 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently 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.