Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $104.12 and last traded at $103.00, with a volume of 55094 shares. The stock had previously closed at $105.86.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WLK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Westlake from $168.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.07.

Westlake Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $13.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 143.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.00. 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 (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $420,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Westlake by 3.8% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Westlake by 4.1% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,911 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Westlake by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,021 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,506,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 7,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Company Profile

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.