Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK) Receives $92.29 Average PT from Brokerages

Key Points

• Westlake Corp. has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with eight analysts recommending buying the stock and one giving a strong buy rating.
• The company recently declared an increase in its quarterly dividend, raising it to $0.53 per share from $0.47, representing a 2.5% dividend yield.
• Westlake's stock price has fluctuated between a one-year low of $68.55 and a high of $153.34, and its recent earnings report showed a 7.9% decline in quarterly revenue compared to last year.

Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six investment 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 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $92.2857.

WLK has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup raised their target price on Westlake from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays lowered their target price on Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Westlake from $101.00 to $99.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WLK. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 4th quarter valued at $642,000. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 315.7% during the 4th quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 60,648 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $6,953,000 after acquiring an additional 46,058 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in Westlake by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,393 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Westlake by 56.8% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 827,516 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $94,875,000 after purchasing an additional 299,597 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK traded up $0.72 on Friday, reaching $83.47. 95,756 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,027,077. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $80.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.66. The stock has a market cap of $10.70 billion, a PE ratio of -157.60, a PEG ratio of 369.22 and a beta of 0.92. Westlake has a 52-week low of $68.55 and a 52-week high of $153.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

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

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is currently -396.23%.

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.