Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on WLK. Barclays raised Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $162.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Westlake in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.17.

Westlake Price Performance

Westlake stock traded down $3.74 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $128.19. 533,770 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 447,378. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $138.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $144.26. The stock has a market cap of $16.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 180.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.19. Westlake has a one year low of $118.64 and a one year high of $162.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,239,420. This trade represents a 15.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in Westlake by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,198,710 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $180,154,000 after acquiring an additional 9,838 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted 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 valued at $89,445,000 after purchasing an additional 520,669 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Westlake by 4.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 552,646 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $82,837,000 after purchasing an additional 23,558 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Westlake by 90.6% in 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, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP purchased a new position in Westlake during the third quarter valued at $55,542,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.