Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) Receives $97.64 Average Price Target from Analysts

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $97.6429.

Several research firms recently commented on WLK. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Friday, June 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Westlake in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of Westlake in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a research report on Friday, July 17th.

Westlake Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $70.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Westlake has a 12-month low of $56.33 and a 12-month high of $124.23. The business has a 50 day moving average of $79.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.29. The company has a market capitalization of $9.04 billion, a PE ratio of -5.56 and a beta of 0.63.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.67). Westlake had a negative return on equity of 1.89% and a negative net margin of 14.91%.The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.31) EPS. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Westlake will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. Westlake’s payout ratio is -16.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Westlake during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Westlake in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Westlake by 71.3% in 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 position in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Westlake by 49.6% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 745 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.