Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Reaches New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Piper Sandler lowered their price target on the stock from $155.00 to $135.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Westlake traded as low as $108.95 and last traded at $109.83, with a volume of 17966 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $111.68.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on WLK. Citigroup raised 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 report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays raised Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.92.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,004,758.72. The trade was a 18.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Westlake by 43.2% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in Westlake by 8,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Westlake by 72.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Westlake by 84.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Westlake in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Down 1.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $14.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 155.56, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $123.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.39. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. Westlake’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently 295.77%.

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.