StockNews.com Lowers Westlake (NYSE:WLK) to Sell

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

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Westlake from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on Westlake from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Mizuho started coverage on Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.00.

Westlake Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of Westlake stock traded up $2.90 on Thursday, hitting $146.00. 669,951 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 435,793. The company has a fifty day moving average of $143.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $148.41. Westlake has a one year low of $112.77 and a one year high of $162.64. The company has a market capitalization of $18.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.41. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 2.27%. The firm had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Westlake will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the 1st quarter worth $43,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake 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 worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the second quarter worth about $66,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Westlake by 66.7% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $101,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by 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.