Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $93.77.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WLK shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Westlake from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Bank of America decreased their target price on Westlake from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Westlake from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Westlake from $122.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th.

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE WLK opened at $81.37 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $10.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.31, a P/E/G ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.63 and a quick ratio of 1.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $77.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.53. Westlake has a 1-year low of $68.55 and a 1-year high of $153.34.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($1.01). Westlake had a return on equity of 4.19% and a net margin of 3.23%. The company had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. 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 WLK. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 14,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 29,396 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,292,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

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.

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