Royal Bank Of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) had its price objective increased by Royal Bank Of Canada from $88.00 to $92.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock.

WLK has been the topic of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Westlake from $130.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Westlake from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $76.00 price target (down from $95.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 target price (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $90.85.

Westlake Stock Down 0.9%

WLK stock traded down $0.74 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $81.11. The stock had a trading volume of 707,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 739,238. The company has a current ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Westlake has a 1-year low of $68.55 and a 1-year high of $153.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $77.79 and a 200 day moving average of $96.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.22, a PEG ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 0.91.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 4.19%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Westlake by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,900,025 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $390,120,000 after acquiring an additional 586,178 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,877,973 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $444,610,000 after purchasing an additional 21,293 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,041,190 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $104,150,000 after purchasing an additional 102,268 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 732.7% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 993,150 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $113,865,000 after purchasing an additional 873,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Westlake by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 983,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $112,711,000 after buying an additional 58,093 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Company Profile

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.