Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $96.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price trimmed by Royal Bank of Canada from $122.00 to $96.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down from $120.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Westlake from $130.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.92.

Westlake Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of WLK opened at $80.05 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.38. Westlake has a one year low of $76.97 and a one year high of $161.31. The company 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 current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend yield of 2.62%. Westlake’s payout ratio is presently 70.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

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