BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Price

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 lifted by BMO Capital Markets from $91.00 to $94.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on WLK. Truist Financial cut their target price on Westlake from $117.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Westlake from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Westlake from $101.00 to $99.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays lowered their target price on Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Westlake from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Westlake currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.93.

Westlake Trading Down 3.7%

WLK stock traded down $3.01 during mid-day 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. The company has a market cap of $10.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -149.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 51.04 and a beta of 0.92. The business's 50 day moving average price is $79.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Westlake has a 12 month low of $68.55 and a 12 month high of $153.34.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its 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). Westlake had a positive return on equity of 1.26% and a negative net margin of 0.57%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is presently -396.23%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WLK. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Westlake by 96.9% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 7,827 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $897,000 after acquiring an additional 3,851 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Westlake by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 25,928 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,973,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Westlake by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 42,934 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $4,922,000 after acquiring an additional 2,281 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Westlake by 1,737.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 31,781 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,644,000 after buying an additional 30,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Westlake by 1.0% during 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 buying an additional 5,297 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.