Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Reaches New 52-Week Low on Analyst Downgrade

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after Piper Sandler lowered their price target on the stock from $155.00 to $135.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Westlake traded as low as $108.95 and last traded at $109.83, with a volume of 17966 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $111.68.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup raised shares of Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Westlake from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America upgraded Westlake from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Westlake from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $156.92.

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 transaction, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 74.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 699.1% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 595,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $89,445,000 after purchasing an additional 520,669 shares in the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter valued at $55,542,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the 2nd quarter worth $27,179,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 90.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 386,480 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $58,084,000 after purchasing an additional 183,666 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Westlake by 3,330.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 150,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $23,802,000 after purchasing an additional 145,673 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Westlake Trading Down 1.0 %

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 stock has a market cap of $14.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 155.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.39.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is 295.77%.

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.