Westlake Corporation manufactures and supplies petrochemicals, polymers, and building products worldwide. It operates through two segments, Performance and Essential Materials; and Housing and Infrastructure Products. The Performance and Essential Materials segment manufactures and markets polyethylene, styrene monomer, ethylene co-products, PVC, VCM, ethylene dichloride chlor-alkali, and chlorinated derivative products. The Housing and Infrastructure Products segment manufactures and sells residential PVC siding; PVC trim and moldings; roofing applications; decorative stone; windows; PVC decking; PVC films for various inflatables, wallcovering, tape, and roofing applications; polymer composite roof tiles; PVC pipe and fittings; PVC compounds; and various consumer and commercial products such as landscape edging; industrial, home and office matting; marine dock edging; and masonry joint controls. The company offers its products to a range of customers, including chemical processors, plastics fabricators, small construction contractors, municipalities, and supply warehouses for use in various consumer and industrial markets, including residential construction, flexible and rigid packaging, automotive products, healthcare products, water treatment, and coatings, as well as other durable and non-durable goods. The company was formerly known as Westlake Chemical Corporation and changed its name to Westlake Corporation in February 2022. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Westlake Corporation is a subsidiary of TTWF LP.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WLK shares. Citigroup cut their target price on Westlake from $114.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Monday, August 8th. StockNews.com lowered Westlake from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Westlake from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $134.00 to $135.00 in a report on Friday, June 3rd. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Westlake in a research report on Tuesday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Westlake from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $129.75.
Westlake Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $106.28 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.17. The company has a market cap of $13.64 billion, a PE ratio of 4.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.23. Westlake has a 12-month low of $79.88 and a 12-month high of $141.19.
Westlake Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.357 per share. This is a boost from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.43 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 19th. Westlake's payout ratio is currently 5.38%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, CEO Albert Chao sold 37,876 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.38, for a total value of $4,938,272.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 472,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,667,523.54. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Westlake news, CEO Albert Chao sold 37,876 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.38, for a total value of $4,938,272.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 472,983 shares in the company, valued at $61,667,523.54. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 14,427 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.47, for a total transaction of $1,867,863.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,525,156.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 73.80% of the company's stock.