Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

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.

Shares of Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $92.2857.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Westlake from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $101.00 to $99.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $98.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Westlake from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th.

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE WLK opened at $85.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -161.69, a PEG ratio of 111.18 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $79.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Westlake has a 1 year low of $68.55 and a 1 year high of $153.34.

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

Westlake Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WLK. Huntington National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 251.1% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 316 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Westlake by 127.1% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 427 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Westlake by 107.0% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 565 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in Westlake by 54.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 567 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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