Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Rating) in a research report issued on Thursday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $103.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Westlake from $109.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Piper Sandler raised shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Westlake from $119.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. Finally, Tudor Pickering lowered Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $120.00.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK stock opened at $115.94 on Thursday. Westlake has a one year low of $81.29 and a one year high of $136.60. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $113.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 2.85. The company has a market capitalization of $14.77 billion, a PE ratio of 7.97 and a beta of 1.24.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $1.00. Westlake had a net margin of 12.49% and a return on equity of 18.19%. The company had revenue of $3.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.83 earnings per share. Westlake’s quarterly revenue was down 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 10.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Enhancement Group LLC acquired a new position in Westlake during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,112,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in Westlake by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,144,072 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $132,689,000 after acquiring an additional 19,052 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Westlake by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,025,242 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $118,908,000 after acquiring an additional 64,504 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Westlake by 150.0% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 470 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Westlake by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 470,466 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,471,000 after acquiring an additional 19,466 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.79% of the company’s stock.

About Westlake

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Westlake Corp. Is a global diversified industrial company, which engages in the manufacturing and supplying of essential products. It operates through the Performance and Essential Materials, and Housing and Infrastructure Products segments. The Performance and Essential Materials segment includes Westlake North American Vinyls, Westlake North American Chlor-alkali and Derivatives, Westlake European and Asian Chlorovinyls, Westlake Olefins, Westlake Polyethylene, and Westlake Epoxy.