Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Price

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $130.00 to $110.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Westlake from $144.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.15.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of WLK opened at $89.70 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $104.69 and its 200-day moving average is $118.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.52 billion, a PE ratio of 126.33, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. Westlake has a fifty-two week low of $81.41 and a fifty-two week high of $161.31.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 247.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Westlake by 6,316.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Westlake by 1,668.2% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 43.2% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 33.9% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 525 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Westlake

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.