Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target Raised to $180.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective lifted by Piper Sandler from $160.00 to $180.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Westlake from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their target price for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Westlake from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Vertical Research cut shares of Westlake from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $154.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $151.00.

Westlake Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of WLK stock opened at $157.31 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.46. Westlake has a fifty-two week low of $103.28 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64. The company has a market cap of $20.23 billion, a PE ratio of 79.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $149.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.08.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.69% and a net margin of 2.13%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.05 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. Westlake’s payout ratio is currently 100.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westlake

In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total transaction of $667,764.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 50,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,893,632.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total transaction of $667,764.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 50,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,893,632.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total value of $560,371.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,608 shares of company stock valued at $2,676,565. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 512.8% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 1,841 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Westlake by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 37,573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,684,000 after purchasing an additional 5,899 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 8.6% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 17,750 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 1,413 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 10.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 682,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $85,129,000 after purchasing an additional 63,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 5.2% during the third quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 7,723 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $963,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

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.