Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Given New $145.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price hoisted by Citigroup from $130.00 to $145.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Westlake from $129.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Westlake in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Westlake from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $80.00 price objective on Westlake in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.53.

Westlake Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $120.70 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.44 billion, a PE ratio of -10.32 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $104.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.86. Westlake has a 1 year low of $56.33 and a 1 year high of $124.23.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. Westlake had a negative return on equity of 1.22% and a negative net margin of 13.50%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.06 EPS. Analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently -18.12%.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total transaction of $1,756,916.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,484,178.36. This represents a 28.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Westlake during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted 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 purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Westlake by 180.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.