Zacks Research Upgrades Westlake (NYSE:WLK) to “Hold”

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on WLK. Citigroup increased their target price on Westlake from $100.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Westlake in a report on Friday, January 16th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Westlake from $88.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Westlake from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $83.00 price target (down from $91.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.80.

Westlake Trading Up 5.2%

Shares of WLK stock opened at $105.59 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $87.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Westlake has a 1-year low of $56.33 and a 1-year high of $114.75. The firm has a market cap of $13.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.02, a PEG ratio of 43.32 and a beta of 0.91.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $1.22. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 13.50% and a negative return on equity of 1.22%. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.57, for a total transaction of $3,004,304.52. Following the sale, the chairman owned 627,722 shares in the company, valued at $46,181,507.54. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Westlake by 90.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,687 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,869,000 after buying an additional 18,321 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Westlake by 9.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 19,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,881,000 after acquiring an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the first quarter worth about $211,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Westlake by 54.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 567 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in Westlake by 989.6% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 730 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

About Westlake

Westlake Corp. is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, polymers and building products, serving customers across industrial and residential markets. The company’s core operations encompass the production of vinyls—primarily polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and its key feedstock vinyl chloride monomer (VCM)—as well as chlor-alkali products including caustic soda and chlorine. In addition, Westlake produces ethylene, propylene and specialty elastomers, along with construction-related materials such as vinyl siding, trim, windows and roofing systems.

Operating a network of vertically integrated plants and distribution centers, Westlake serves markets in North America, Europe and Asia.