Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Given New $99.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) had its target price decreased by UBS Group from $101.00 to $99.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on WLK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Westlake from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Westlake from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Westlake from $117.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $91.46.

Westlake Trading Up 1.1%

WLK stock traded up $0.98 on Wednesday, reaching $86.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 759,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 750,806. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.30. Westlake has a 12-month low of $68.55 and a 12-month high of $153.34. The firm has a market cap of $11.09 billion, a PE ratio of 29.02, a PEG ratio of 9.88 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 2.63.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. The business's revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 20th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WLK. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in Westlake by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 14,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,690,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV increased its holdings in Westlake by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 4,877 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Westlake by 33.9% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 525 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Westlake by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Westlake by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 29,396 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,292,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. 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.