Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Westlake's share price saw a significant increase, opening at $82.99 after closing at $76.25, indicating strong market interest.
• Analysts have mixed ratings, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.77, reflecting varying confidence in the stock’s performance.
• The company recently reported a net margin of 3.23% and a quarterly earnings miss with EPS of ($0.09), falling short of the anticipated $0.06.

Shares of Westlake Corp. (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $76.25, but opened at $82.99. Westlake shares last traded at $81.61, with a volume of 199,108 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Westlake from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Westlake from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Westlake from $98.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Westlake from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.93.

Westlake Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $10.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -149.17, a P/E/G ratio of 49.13 and a beta of 0.92.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 0.57% and a positive return on equity of 1.26%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. Analysts forecast that Westlake Corp. will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is currently -396.23%.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 14,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,690,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 4,877 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $557,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 33.9% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 525 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 11.8% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,433 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

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.