Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Given New $84.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) had its target price reduced by Bank of America from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock.

WLK has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays cut their target price on Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Westlake from $118.00 to $101.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $85.00 target price (down from $95.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $90.54.

Westlake Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Westlake stock traded up $0.90 on Wednesday, reaching $72.08. The company had a trading volume of 1,912,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 717,945. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $80.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.99. Westlake has a 1 year low of $68.55 and a 1 year high of $153.34. 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 firm has a market cap of $9.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.91.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,900,025 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $390,120,000 after purchasing an additional 586,178 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $444,610,000 after acquiring an additional 21,293 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 10.9% in 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 period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 732.7% in 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 period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. 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.