Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Westlake from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.25.

Westlake Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $91.97 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $99.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. The company has a market capitalization of $11.82 billion, a PE ratio of 129.54, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. Westlake has a 52 week low of $81.41 and a 52 week high of $161.31.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.98). The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. Westlake’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. Analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is 45.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 732.7% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 993,150 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $113,865,000 after purchasing an additional 873,888 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Westlake by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,313,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $379,933,000 after buying an additional 574,068 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Westlake during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,630,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Westlake by 56.8% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 827,516 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $94,875,000 after buying an additional 299,597 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 348.8% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 364,274 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $41,327,000 after buying an additional 283,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.