Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Rating Increased 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 on Tuesday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America upgraded Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.17.

Westlake Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $128.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $16.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 180.55, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. Westlake has a 1 year low of $118.64 and a 1 year high of $162.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $137.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.05.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,239,420. This trade represents a 15.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Westlake by 699.1% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 595,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $89,445,000 after purchasing an additional 520,669 shares in the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the third quarter worth about $55,542,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the second quarter worth about $27,179,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Westlake by 90.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 386,480 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $58,084,000 after purchasing an additional 183,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Westlake by 3,330.4% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 150,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $23,802,000 after purchasing an additional 145,673 shares in the last quarter. 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.