Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Sets New 12-Month Low - Here's Why

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $112.54 and last traded at $112.56, with a volume of 188671 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $114.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on WLK. Citigroup upgraded shares of Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Westlake from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays raised shares of Westlake from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $159.83.

Westlake Stock Performance

The business's fifty day moving average is $124.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.36. 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 company has a market capitalization of $14.43 billion, a PE ratio of 157.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 295.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total transaction of $225,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,004,758.72. This represents a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 74.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter valued at $544,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Westlake during the second quarter valued at about $27,179,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Westlake by 89.8% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 44,194 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $6,400,000 after purchasing an additional 20,913 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 4.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 552,646 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $82,837,000 after buying an additional 23,558 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 134.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,612 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,102,000 after buying an additional 4,364 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Company Profile

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.