Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) Stock Has Average Price Target of $83.87 According to Analysts

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $82.20.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective (down from $85.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, October 5th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Westlake from $89.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 1st. UBS Group set a $86.00 price target on Westlake and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Westlake from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total transaction of $3,120,724.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 642,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,610,406.40. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 133.8% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 830 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in Westlake during the second quarter worth about $69,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in Westlake by 219.4% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 955 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Westlake in the second quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Westlake by 58,450.0% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,171 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 1,169 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $63.26 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $70.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.70. Westlake has a 1 year low of $56.33 and a 1 year high of $124.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.09 billion, a PE ratio of -6.60 and a beta of 0.69.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 10.94% and a positive return on equity of 0.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.11) EPS. Analysts predict that Westlake will post 2.83 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th were paid a dividend of $0.5330 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $2.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -22.23%.

About Westlake

Westlake Corporation (NYSE: WLK) is a global manufacturer of performance and essential materials used in construction, infrastructure, packaging, healthcare, automotive, and consumer products. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company operates through businesses focused on producing chemical building blocks, polymers, and specialty materials.

Its product portfolio includes polyvinyl chloride (PVC), chlor-alkali products such as caustic soda and chlorine, polyethylene, epoxy and specialty resins, and other performance chemicals.