Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Truist Financial

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective lowered by Truist Financial from $90.00 to $81.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on WLK. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday, October 12th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $66.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $89.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Mizuho set a $72.00 price target on shares of Westlake in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.40.

Westlake Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE WLK opened at $63.80 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.38 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $66.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 2.38. Westlake has a 52 week low of $56.33 and a 52 week high of $124.23.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.04). Westlake had a positive return on equity of 1.99% and a negative net margin of 3.91%. The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.29) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th were paid a dividend of $0.5330 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $2.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -61.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Westlake in the third quarter valued at $97,000. Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in Westlake by 42.2% during the third quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 8,909 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $555,000 after buying an additional 2,642 shares during the last quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in Westlake by 151.9% during the third quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 9,853 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $614,000 after acquiring an additional 5,941 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in Westlake by 310.6% during the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 23,283 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,451,000 after acquiring an additional 17,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its position in Westlake by 19.7% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 187,598 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $11,689,000 after acquiring an additional 30,841 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corporation is a global manufacturer of materials and products used in construction, packaging, consumer goods, and other industries. Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company serves customers through operations in North America, Europe, and Asia. Westlake’s Performance and Essential Materials business produces petrochemicals and materials such as polyethylene, styrene, chlor-alkali products, and PVC resins. These materials are used in applications ranging from packaging and household products to water treatment and construction.