Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Shares hit a new 52-week high after Citigroup raised its price target to $130 and maintained a buy rating; the stock traded as high as $113.48 and last at $113.43.
• Westlake beat EPS expectations for the quarter (loss of $0.25 vs. an expected -$1.47) but revenue fell 10.9% year‑over‑year and the company still shows negative net margins.
• Insiders sold stock (Chairman Albert Chao and CFO Mark Bender among them), while large institutions—notably Wellington Management—dramatically increased holdings, leaving institutional investors with about 28.4% ownership.

Shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $124.00 to $130.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Westlake traded as high as $113.48 and last traded at $113.4340, with a volume of 422616 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $107.03.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on WLK. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $92.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Westlake in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Alembic Global Advisors set a $80.00 price target on Westlake in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Zacks Research raised Westlake from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Westlake from $88.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $98.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.57, for a total value of $3,004,304.52. Following the sale, the chairman owned 627,722 shares in the company, valued at $46,181,507.54. This represents a 6.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total transaction of $1,756,916.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,484,178.36. The trade was a 28.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 7,239.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,220,717 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $312,080,000 after buying an additional 4,163,207 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in Westlake during the 4th quarter valued at $160,548,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Westlake during the 2nd quarter valued at $104,314,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 246.0% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,456,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $110,621,000 after acquiring an additional 1,035,851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 440.1% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 854,184 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $65,823,000 after acquiring an additional 696,029 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Westlake Stock Up 5.9%

The stock has a market capitalization of $14.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.68 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $92.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.97.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $1.22. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. Westlake had a negative return on equity of 1.22% and a negative net margin of 13.50%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.06 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Westlake Corporation will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is currently -18.12%.

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corp. is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, polymers and building products, serving customers across industrial and residential markets. The company's core operations encompass the production of vinyls—primarily polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and its key feedstock vinyl chloride monomer (VCM)—as well as chlor-alkali products including caustic soda and chlorine. In addition, Westlake produces ethylene, propylene and specialty elastomers, along with construction-related materials such as vinyl siding, trim, windows and roofing systems.

Operating a network of vertically integrated plants and distribution centers, Westlake serves markets in North America, Europe and Asia.

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