Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on WLK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $127.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a report on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America cut their target price on Westlake from $104.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Friday, June 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.64.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK stock opened at $75.21 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $81.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $9.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.92 and a beta of 0.62. Westlake has a fifty-two week low of $56.33 and a fifty-two week high of $124.23.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.67). Westlake had a negative net margin of 14.91% and a negative return on equity of 1.89%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.31) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -16.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WLK. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in Westlake by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 8,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $935,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Westlake by 0.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 28,134 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,136,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 14.0% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $178,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 3.0% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 6,868 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $802,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.