Barclays Cuts Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $100.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price trimmed by Barclays from $135.00 to $100.00 in a report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $132.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $116.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.92.

Westlake Stock Down 1.0 %

Westlake stock opened at $78.01 on Monday. Westlake has a 52-week low of $76.97 and a 52-week high of $161.31. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $96.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $112.16. The firm has a market cap of $10.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 109.87, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($1.01). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s payout ratio is 70.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 40,613 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,104,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 72.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 13,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,522,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in Westlake in the fourth quarter worth about $307,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.