Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Reaches New 1-Year Low - Here's Why

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $108.56 and last traded at $110.47, with a volume of 68284 shares. The stock had previously closed at $114.27.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on WLK. Citigroup raised shares of Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Westlake in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $168.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $155.79.

Westlake Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $14.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 155.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $118.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $132.66.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. Westlake's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake's payout ratio is currently 295.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. This represents a 18.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Westlake by 247.7% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Westlake by 6,316.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Westlake by 72.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Westlake by 84.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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