Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Upgraded by UBS Group to “Buy” Rating

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) was upgraded by UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $144.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 30.87% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $151.00 to $159.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.92.

Westlake Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $110.03 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $14.16 billion, a PE ratio of 154.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.18. Westlake has a one year low of $108.95 and a one year high of $162.64. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $122.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.67.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westlake

In other news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,758.72. The trade was a 18.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 74.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Westlake by 43.2% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Westlake by 8,400.0% in the 2nd 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. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the second quarter worth about $66,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Westlake during the 3rd 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.