Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Sets New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $104.12 and last traded at $103.00, with a volume of 55094 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $105.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.07.

Westlake Stock Down 0.8 %

The company has a market cap of $12.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 142.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. 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 50-day simple moving average of $112.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.67.

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

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter worth approximately $300,000. Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,393 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 5,190 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $595,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 346,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $39,759,000 after acquiring an additional 28,505 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 3,182.3% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 219,030 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $25,112,000 after acquiring an additional 212,357 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.