Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Reaches New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $63.50 and last traded at $63.4230, with a volume of 255387 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $65.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WLK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group set a $93.00 target price on shares of Westlake and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Westlake from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Mizuho set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Westlake and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.07.

Westlake Trading Down 2.8%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $78.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.82. The company has a market cap of $8.13 billion, a PE ratio of -119.58 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.47). The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a positive return on equity of 1.26% and a negative net margin of 0.57%.Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Westlake Corporation will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Huntington National Bank bought a new position in shares of Westlake in the second quarter worth $26,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 127.1% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 427 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Westlake by 107.0% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 565 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 54.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 567 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in Westlake by 989.6% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 730 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 663 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

About Westlake

Westlake Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Performance and Essential Materials and Housing and Infrastructure Products.