Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $115.00 and last traded at $115.54, with a volume of 941106 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $117.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WLK. Citigroup upgraded Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Westlake has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $159.83.

Westlake Stock Down 0.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $14.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 159.48, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $129.18 and a 200 day moving average of $139.78.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). The business had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently 295.77%.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. The trade was a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Westlake by 1.1% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 7,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Westlake by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in Westlake by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,724 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.