Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK) from a neutral rating to an underweight rating in a research note released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $90.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Citigroup upped their price target on Westlake from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Westlake from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Westlake has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.73.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK stock opened at $93.77 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.01 billion, a PE ratio of -7.38 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.65 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.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.67). The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 14.91% and a negative return on equity of 1.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.31) EPS. Analysts forecast that Westlake will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -16.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westlake

In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total transaction of $1,756,916.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 44,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,484,178.36. This represents a 28.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Westlake in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 71.3% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 562 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 180.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

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.