Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Shares Break Above 50 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $67.98 and traded as high as $68.35. Westlake shares last traded at $68.21, with a volume of 1,181,941 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $85.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $89.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $95.00 to $74.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.13.

Westlake Stock Up 3.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.12 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $67.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.67.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. Westlake had a positive return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 10.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($1.11) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Westlake Corporation will post 2.30 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th were given a dividend of $0.5330 per share. This represents a $2.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. This is a positive change from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 25th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently -22.23%.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In other news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total value of $3,120,724.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 642,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,610,406.40. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 54.4% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 352,448 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $21,961,000 after buying an additional 124,129 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter valued at about $349,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Westlake by 166.2% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,608 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Core Capital Management & Research inc. acquired a new position in Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $264,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corporation is a global manufacturer of performance and essential materials, as well as products used in housing and infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company serves customers in construction, packaging, healthcare, consumer products, automotive, and other industrial markets.

Westlake’s materials portfolio includes chlor-alkali and derivative chemicals, polyethylene, PVC, vinyl intermediates, epoxy resins, and other specialty products. These materials are used in applications such as water treatment, coatings, adhesives, plastics, medical products, and packaging.

Through its housing and infrastructure businesses, Westlake also produces building products including vinyl siding, trim, roofing products, pipe, fittings, and related components.