Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Given New $96.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price target cut by Royal Bank of Canada from $122.00 to $96.00 in a research note published on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on WLK. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Westlake from $130.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Westlake from $125.00 to $103.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $144.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.92.

Westlake Trading Down 0.5 %

Westlake stock opened at $80.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 112.75, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. Westlake has a 52 week low of $76.97 and a 52 week high of $161.31.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WLK. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Westlake by 247.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 251.1% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 316 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Westlake by 6,316.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Westlake by 1,668.2% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 127.1% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 427 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.