Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $94.24 and last traded at $95.59, with a volume of 655277 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $102.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WLK shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $136.50.

Westlake Stock Down 6.0 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $108.44 and a 200-day moving average of $121.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The firm has a market cap of $11.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 124.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.36%.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Westlake by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 98,056 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $11,242,000 after buying an additional 4,088 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 236,354 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,098,000 after purchasing an additional 11,992 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 59,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,822,000 after purchasing an additional 12,833 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Westlake by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 552,646 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $82,837,000 after purchasing an additional 23,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Westlake by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,313,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $379,933,000 after purchasing an additional 574,068 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

About Westlake

Westlake Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Performance and Essential Materials and Housing and Infrastructure Products.