Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Sets New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during 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.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on WLK. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Westlake from $125.00 to $103.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Westlake from $130.00 to $116.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $103.54.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $63,832,000 after purchasing an additional 5,297 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 98,056 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $11,242,000 after acquiring an additional 4,088 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 236,354 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $27,098,000 after acquiring an additional 11,992 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 27.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 12,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Westlake by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,313,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $379,933,000 after acquiring an additional 574,068 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Trading Down 1.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. The firm has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.90, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.85.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. 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 payout ratio is currently 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.