Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $131.48, but opened at $125.41. Westlake shares last traded at $131.44, with a volume of 42,468 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WLK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho initiated coverage on Westlake in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America raised Westlake from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays raised 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, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Westlake from $174.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $165.92.

Westlake Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $17.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.61. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.50.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.41. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 2.27%. The firm 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 company earned $2.31 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This is a boost from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.96%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,554 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $849,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Westlake by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,724 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Westlake by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,518 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in Westlake by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Westlake by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 9,300 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

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.