Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK) Receives $92.29 Average Price Target from Analysts

Key Points

• Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK) has an average analyst rating of “Moderate Buy,” with six hold recommendations, eight buy recommendations, and one strong buy from fifteen firms.
• The company's quarterly earnings report showed a loss of ($0.09) EPS, falling short of the $0.06 consensus estimate, as revenue declined 7.9% year-over-year.
• Westlake recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.47 to $0.53 per share, representing a 2.4% dividend yield.

Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $92.2857.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WLK shares. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Westlake from $117.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $101.00 to $99.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK stock traded down $1.47 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $88.11. 745,794 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 995,493. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $84.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -166.25 and a beta of 0.92. Westlake has a 12-month low of $68.55 and a 12-month high of $151.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.47.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3 billion. Westlake had a positive return on equity of 1.26% and a negative net margin of 0.57%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Westlake's payout ratio is currently -400.00%.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 244,497 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $24,457,000 after acquiring an additional 8,143 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Westlake by 251.1% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 316 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Westlake by 71.9% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 514 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Westlake by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 12,253 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Westlake by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 61,134 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $6,115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,635 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.