Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $112.54 and last traded at $112.56, with a volume of 188671 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $114.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WLK shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $162.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.83.

Westlake Price Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $124.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.10. The stock has a market cap of $14.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 157.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released 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). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 295.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. This trade represents a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in Westlake by 43.2% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Westlake by 8,400.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Westlake during the third quarter worth about $62,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Westlake during the second quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Westlake in the third quarter valued at approximately $75,000. 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.