Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target Raised to $171.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective boosted by BMO Capital Markets from $167.00 to $171.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

WLK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their target price for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and set a $158.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Westlake from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 8th. They set an outperform rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $165.50.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of WLK stock opened at $147.12 on Tuesday. Westlake has a 12 month low of $112.77 and a 12 month high of $162.64. The company has a market capitalization of $18.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $146.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 2.27%. Westlake’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.66 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a boost from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Westlake’s payout ratio is presently 100.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Dorsey Wright & Associates acquired a new stake in Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth $3,185,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 65.7% during the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 35,285 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,110,000 after purchasing an additional 13,991 shares in the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC bought a new stake in Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $417,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the second quarter worth $981,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 36.7% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 131,616 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $19,061,000 after purchasing an additional 35,331 shares during the period. 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.