Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Hits New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Piper Sandler lowered their price target on the stock from $105.00 to $100.00. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Westlake traded as low as $76.17 and last traded at $76.31, with a volume of 1858652 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $79.94.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $122.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $116.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $122.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $103.54.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter valued at $11,480,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 59,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $6,822,000 after buying an additional 12,833 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,246 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 247.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter valued at $361,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Westlake Stock Down 1.0%

The company has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $89.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.68.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($1.01). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. Westlake's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.47%.

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.