JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Price

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $110.00 to $82.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Citigroup lowered their target price on Westlake from $130.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $116.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.77.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $78.91 on Tuesday. Westlake has a 1-year low of $77.23 and a 1-year high of $161.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $10.14 billion, a PE ratio of 111.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $112.40.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($1.01). The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 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 down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Westlake by 251.1% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 316 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings 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 period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Westlake by 1,668.2% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 127.1% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 427 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.