Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the fifteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $145.79.

WLK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th.

Westlake Stock Performance

Westlake stock opened at $149.55 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $147.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.00. The company has a market cap of $19.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 1.79. Westlake has a fifty-two week low of $103.28 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.05%.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In related news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total value of $560,371.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,055,308. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,804 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.02, for a total transaction of $677,460.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,389,052.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total value of $560,371.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 13,658 shares of company stock valued at $1,923,225. 74.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Westlake by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Westlake by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,528 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in Westlake by 0.5% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 17,569 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,190,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its stake in Westlake by 2.6% in the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 3,302 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Capital Group California Inc. raised its stake in Westlake by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 4,256 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.