UBS Group Lowers Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $99.00

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

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays decreased their target price on Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Truist Financial decreased 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. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Westlake from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $94.00 target price on Westlake and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $91.46.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of Westlake stock traded up $2.56 on Wednesday, reaching $85.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,747,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 749,573. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $77.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.30. The company has a market capitalization of $10.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.73, a PEG ratio of 9.88 and a beta of 0.91. Westlake has a 52-week low of $68.55 and a 52-week high of $153.34.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 4.19% and a net margin of 3.23%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current 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 was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. Westlake's payout ratio is presently 70.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Westlake by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 557,943 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $63,832,000 after purchasing an additional 5,297 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 4.6% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 12,253 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,226,000 after buying an additional 534 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 71.9% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 514 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 2.7% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 61,134 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $6,115,000 after buying an additional 1,635 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 236,354 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $27,098,000 after buying an additional 11,992 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company's stock.

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.