Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $102.20.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WLK. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Westlake from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Westlake from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $80.00 target price on Westlake in a report on Monday, December 15th.

Westlake Stock Down 0.4%

WLK stock opened at $116.41 on Friday. Westlake has a twelve month low of $56.33 and a twelve month high of $119.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $14.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.95 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.65.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $1.22. Westlake had a negative net margin of 13.50% and a negative return on equity of 1.22%. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.06 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -18.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total value of $1,756,916.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,484,178.36. The trade was a 28.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Westlake by 11.8% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,433 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Westlake by 0.6% in 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. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 37.4% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 805 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank boosted its stake in Westlake by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 28,483 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,106,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently 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.