Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Truist Financial

Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK) in a report issued on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $168.00 target price on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group upgraded Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.79.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $115.75 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $118.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.12. The company has a market cap of $14.90 billion, a PE ratio of 163.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.18. Westlake has a twelve month low of $108.95 and a twelve month high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). The business had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently 295.77%.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In other Westlake news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,239,420. The trade was a 15.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 74.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Westlake by 247.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Westlake by 6,316.7% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Westlake by 72.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Westlake by 84.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.