Truist Financial Cuts Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $155.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective decreased by Truist Financial from $166.00 to $155.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

WLK has been the topic of several other research reports. Citigroup raised Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $152.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.21.

Westlake Stock Down 3.7 %

WLK stock opened at $99.09 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $110.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.94. Westlake has a 12 month low of $98.51 and a 12 month high of $162.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 139.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.98). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is 45.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 7,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,181,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 0.6% during 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 during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 43.2% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its holdings in Westlake by 2.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Westlake by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 115 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.