Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Westlake from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Westlake from $130.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Westlake from $132.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America upgraded Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $116.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Westlake from $144.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.92.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $80.05 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 112.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $95.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $111.05. Westlake has a one year low of $76.97 and a one year high of $161.31.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($1.01). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. Westlake’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in Westlake by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 14,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,690,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its position in Westlake by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 4,877 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Westlake by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 33.9% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 525 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Westlake by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.