Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Upgraded to Buy at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $140.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company's stock, down from their previous price objective of $152.00.

A number of other research firms have also commented on WLK. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $159.83.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK stock traded down $2.00 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $115.54. 941,106 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 460,771. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $130.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. Westlake has a 12-month low of $115.00 and a 12-month high of $162.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 162.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.16.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. Westlake's quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is currently 295.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,534 shares in the company, valued at $1,239,420. This trade represents a 15.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 74.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 2.4% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 40,613 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $6,104,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 4,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $730,000 after buying an additional 1,169 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Westlake by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 552,646 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $82,837,000 after acquiring an additional 23,558 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Westlake by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 26.5% during the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 812 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.