Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Price Expected to Rise, BMO Capital Markets Analyst Says

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets raised its price target for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) from $91.00 to $94.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.66% from current levels.
• Several analysts have recently adjusted their ratings and price targets on Westlake, including Barclays lowering their target to $100.00 and Citigroup raising it to $95.00, with a consensus rating of "Hold."
• Westlake's stock has seen fluctuations, recently trading down to $81.98 with a 12-month low of $68.55 and a high of $153.34, reflecting significant volatility in its market performance.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $91.00 to $94.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on WLK. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Westlake from $117.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Westlake from $130.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Westlake from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Westlake from $122.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.93.

Westlake Price Performance

Westlake stock traded down $3.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $79.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,230,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,246,577. Westlake has a fifty-two week low of $68.55 and a fifty-two week high of $153.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 2.47. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $79.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a PE 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.15). Westlake had a negative net margin of 0.57% and a positive return on equity of 1.26%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. Westlake's revenue was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Westlake by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,900,025 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $390,120,000 after buying an additional 586,178 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Westlake by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,041,190 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $104,150,000 after buying an additional 102,268 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Westlake by 732.7% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 993,150 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $113,865,000 after buying an additional 873,888 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Westlake by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 983,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $112,711,000 after buying an additional 58,093 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 934,122 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $107,092,000 after purchasing an additional 43,544 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

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.