Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Price

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $130.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

WLK has been the subject of a number of other reports. Bank of America raised Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.85.

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE:WLK opened at $116.82 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $121.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.03. Westlake has a 1-year low of $108.95 and a 1-year high of $162.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 164.54, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.18.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by ($0.80). The business had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Westlake’s payout ratio is 295.77%.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In other Westlake news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,239,420. This represents a 15.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Westlake by 699.1% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 595,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $89,445,000 after buying an additional 520,669 shares in the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth about $55,542,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Westlake in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,179,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Westlake by 90.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 386,480 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $58,084,000 after purchasing an additional 183,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Westlake by 3,330.4% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 150,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $23,802,000 after purchasing an additional 145,673 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

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.