Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Given New $153.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price target upped by Royal Bank of Canada from $134.00 to $153.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on WLK. Citigroup upped their target price on Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded Westlake from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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 report on Thursday. Barclays upped their target price on Westlake from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $145.79.

Westlake Stock Performance

Westlake stock opened at $150.76 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $146.61 and a 200-day moving average of $136.29. Westlake has a 1 year low of $103.28 and a 1 year high of $162.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The company has a market capitalization of $19.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.30.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.09). Westlake had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The firm had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.79 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. Westlake’s payout ratio is 54.05%.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total transaction of $667,764.78. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,893,632.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total value of $560,371.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,055,308. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total value of $667,764.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,893,632.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,658 shares of company stock valued at $1,923,225 over the last ninety days. 74.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC raised its position in Westlake by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,630,975 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $577,344,000 after buying an additional 96,152 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in Westlake by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,803,250 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $454,374,000 after buying an additional 236,332 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in Westlake by 106.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,311,836 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $183,605,000 after buying an additional 675,725 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Westlake by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,164,284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $139,097,000 after purchasing an additional 20,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Westlake by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,142,590 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $159,917,000 after purchasing an additional 66,614 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.