Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on WLK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $158.00 price target on shares of Westlake in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Westlake from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Westlake presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $152.00.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $151.04 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $19.42 billion, a PE ratio of 75.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.26. Westlake has a fifty-two week low of $107.34 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $153.86 and a 200-day moving average of $145.77.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.69% and a net margin of 2.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.05 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.19, for a total transaction of $753,340.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 40,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,141,779.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Pathstone Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $208,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,852 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 29,838 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,720,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,883 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 56.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 304,429 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,953,000 after buying an additional 109,433 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.