Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Given New $144.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective decreased by UBS Group from $160.00 to $144.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

WLK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $174.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.92.

Westlake Stock Performance

WLK opened at $137.13 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $17.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $140.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.30. Westlake has a 1 year low of $118.64 and a 1 year high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by ($0.80). Westlake had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 2.27%. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. This is a boost from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is 100.96%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors increased its position in Westlake by 1.7% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,334,579 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $203,924,000 after purchasing an additional 22,743 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Westlake by 90.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 386,480 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $58,084,000 after purchasing an additional 183,666 shares during the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP increased its position in Westlake by 17.4% during the second quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 223,366 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,348,000 after purchasing an additional 33,100 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Westlake during the second quarter worth about $27,179,000. Finally, Appian Way Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Westlake during the first quarter worth about $25,154,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.