Royal Bank of Canada Lowers Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $170.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) had its price objective trimmed by Royal Bank of Canada from $174.00 to $170.00 in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on WLK. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Westlake from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $167.17.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of WLK stock traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $144.20. The company had a trading volume of 231,151 shares, compared to its average volume of 435,794. The company has a market capitalization of $18.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.17. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $143.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.62. Westlake has a 52-week low of $112.77 and a 52-week high of $162.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.41. Westlake had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The business had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Westlake will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This is a boost from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is presently 105.53%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WLK. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Westlake in the fourth quarter worth approximately $308,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Westlake by 30.2% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,145 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Westlake during the 1st quarter valued at about $420,000. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 3,302 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC bought a new position in Westlake in the first quarter worth approximately $1,273,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.