Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Sets New 52-Week Low - What's Next?

Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $115.00 and last traded at $115.54, with a volume of 941106 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $117.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective 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. Barclays upgraded shares of Westlake from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $159.83.

Westlake Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $130.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $140.27. 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 market capitalization of $14.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 159.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.16.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by ($0.80). The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is 295.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total transaction of $225,890.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. The trade was a 18.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 74.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 43.2% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Westlake by 8,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westlake during the third quarter valued at approximately $75,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.