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

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is neutral: Sixteen brokerages give Westlake a consensus “Hold” rating, with an average 12-month price target of $83.87. Recent targets range from $66 at Barclays to $85 at Goldman Sachs and Bank of America.
• Westlake’s shares opened at $61.91, near its one-year low of $56.33 and below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The company reported quarterly EPS of $2.01, beating estimates, while revenue rose 10.8% year over year to $3.27 billion.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.533 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $2.13 and a 3.4% yield. Institutional investors own 28.4% of the stock, while Chairman Albert Chao recently sold 38,873 shares.

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $83.87.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WLK. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Westlake from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Westlake in a research report on Monday. They set an "underweight" rating and a $66.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Westlake in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 price objective (down from $85.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $104.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th.

Insider Activity

In related 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 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 approximately $51,610,406.40. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Westlake by 166.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,608 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 1,004 shares in the last quarter. Core Capital Management & Research inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the second quarter valued at about $264,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Westlake by 59.0% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 76,055 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $5,552,000 after purchasing an additional 28,235 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its position in Westlake by 67.8% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 71,301 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $5,205,000 after purchasing an additional 28,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased 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 worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Westlake Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of WLK opened at $61.91 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $71.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.72. Westlake has a one year low of $56.33 and a one year high of $124.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.46 and a beta of 0.69.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.18. Westlake had a positive return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 10.94%. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.11) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Westlake will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

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

Westlake Company Profile

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.

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