Brokerages Set Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) Price Target at $86.00

Shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $86.60.

Several research firms recently commented on WLK. Truist Financial set a $90.00 price target on Westlake and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $83.00 price objective (down from $91.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $80.00 target price on Westlake in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Alembic Global Advisors set a $80.00 price target on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th.

Westlake Trading Up 0.5%

Westlake stock opened at $73.68 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.93 and a beta of 0.94. Westlake has a 52 week low of $56.33 and a 52 week high of $119.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.99.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.29) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.47). Westlake had a negative net margin of 8.34% and a negative return on equity of 0.78%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 25th were paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 25th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Westlake’s payout ratio is currently -28.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westlake news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.57, for a total value of $3,004,304.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 627,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,181,507.54. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $104,314,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its position in shares of Westlake by 246.0% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,456,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $110,621,000 after acquiring an additional 1,035,851 shares in the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the second quarter worth $62,508,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Westlake by 366.7% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 901,229 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $90,150,000 after acquiring an additional 708,142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP boosted its stake in Westlake by 440.1% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 854,184 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $65,823,000 after purchasing an additional 696,029 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by 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.