Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $110.4286.

WLK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday, April 20th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Westlake from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Westlake from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group set a $130.00 price objective on Westlake and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Westlake from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $108.00 to $127.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total value of $1,756,916.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 44,433 shares in the company, valued at $4,484,178.36. The trade was a 28.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 7,239.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,220,717 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $312,080,000 after purchasing an additional 4,163,207 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $160,548,000. Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 440.1% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 854,184 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $65,823,000 after purchasing an additional 696,029 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,885,678 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $139,431,000 after purchasing an additional 585,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,917,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $289,647,000 after purchasing an additional 477,698 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Stock Down 0.4%

Westlake stock opened at $88.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.94 and a beta of 0.67. Westlake has a 52 week low of $56.33 and a 52 week high of $124.23. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $109.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.67). Westlake had a negative return on equity of 1.89% and a negative net margin of 14.91%.The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.31) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Westlake’s payout ratio is currently -16.69%.

About Westlake

Westlake Corp. is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, polymers and building products, serving customers across industrial and residential markets. The company’s core operations encompass the production of vinyls—primarily polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and its key feedstock vinyl chloride monomer (VCM)—as well as chlor-alkali products including caustic soda and chlorine. In addition, Westlake produces ethylene, propylene and specialty elastomers, along with construction-related materials such as vinyl siding, trim, windows and roofing systems.

Operating a network of vertically integrated plants and distribution centers, Westlake serves markets in North America, Europe and Asia.