Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on WLK. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 target price (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $144.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.25.

Westlake Stock Performance

Westlake stock opened at $92.43 on Thursday. Westlake has a fifty-two week low of $81.41 and a fifty-two week high of $161.31. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.24. 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 company has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 130.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The firm’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Westlake by 247.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in Westlake by 251.1% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 316 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Westlake by 6,316.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Westlake by 1,668.2% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Westlake by 71.9% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 514 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. 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.