Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Sets New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $61.31 and last traded at $61.27, with a volume of 82255 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $62.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WLK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Westlake from $87.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price target on Westlake from $93.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Bank of America upgraded Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $87.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.53.

Westlake Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $76.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.98. The company has a market capitalization of $7.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -115.41 and a beta of 0.95.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.47). Westlake had a positive return on equity of 1.26% and a negative net margin of 0.57%.The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Westlake Corporation will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 25th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -28.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Westlake by 3.4% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 244,497 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $24,457,000 after purchasing an additional 8,143 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 45.2% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,535 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,654,000 after buying an additional 8,258 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Westlake by 49.9% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 640 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Westlake by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 71,475 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,150,000 after acquiring an additional 10,827 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 30,421 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,043,000 after purchasing an additional 4,493 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.