Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Upgraded to Buy by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $174.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $138.00.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Westlake from $139.00 to $134.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 26th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded Westlake from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Westlake from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $144.43.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK stock opened at $148.95 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $19.10 billion, a PE ratio of 40.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.30. Westlake has a 12-month low of $103.28 and a 12-month high of $162.64. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $146.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.09.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.70%. Westlake’s quarterly revenue was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. Westlake’s payout ratio is 54.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total transaction of $667,764.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,893,632.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total value of $560,371.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,055,308. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total value of $667,764.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,893,632.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,658 shares of company stock valued at $1,923,225. 74.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Westlake by 106.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,311,836 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $183,605,000 after purchasing an additional 675,725 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Westlake by 189.0% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 802,507 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $99,029,000 after purchasing an additional 524,828 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Westlake by 959.2% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 554,086 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,866,000 after purchasing an additional 501,774 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Westlake by 420.1% in the 1st quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 610,892 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $70,851,000 after purchasing an additional 493,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Westlake during the fourth quarter worth $50,961,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Company Profile

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.