StockNews.com Lowers Westlake (NYSE:WLK) to Sell

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Friday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on WLK. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Westlake from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Westlake from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Vertical Research lowered Westlake from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $154.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Westlake from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $152.00.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $144.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.62 billion, a PE ratio of 72.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Westlake has a 12 month low of $112.77 and a 12 month high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.25. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.69% and a net margin of 2.13%. The business had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.05 earnings per share. Westlake’s quarterly revenue was down 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Westlake’s payout ratio is presently 100.50%.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,950 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.19, for a total value of $753,340.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,356 shares in the company, valued at $6,141,779.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 74.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Capital World Investors grew its position in Westlake by 106.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,311,836 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $183,605,000 after buying an additional 675,725 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Westlake during the fourth quarter worth about $50,961,000. Appian Way Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Westlake during the first quarter worth about $25,154,000. Natixis grew its position in Westlake by 41,979.2% during the first quarter. Natixis now owns 85,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $12,988,000 after buying an additional 84,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in Westlake by 460.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 85,008 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $11,898,000 after buying an additional 69,838 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is 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.