Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Sets New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday after StockNews.com downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a sell rating. The company traded as low as $78.18 and last traded at $78.37, with a volume of 1848761 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $79.85.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on WLK. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Westlake from $125.00 to $103.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Westlake from $122.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Westlake from $144.00 to $127.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $116.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Westlake presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.92.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 247.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Westlake by 251.1% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 316 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Westlake by 6,316.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Westlake by 1,668.2% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 127.1% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 427 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Stock Down 0.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 112.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $95.84 and its 200-day moving average is $111.78.

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

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake's payout ratio is currently 70.47%.

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.