Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Downgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. to Underweight

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK) from a neutral rating to an underweight rating in a research note released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has $90.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Westlake from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Westlake from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Westlake from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $145.00 price target on Westlake and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.40.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $99.94 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.87 and a beta of 0.67. Westlake has a 12 month low of $56.33 and a 12 month high of $124.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.67). The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. Westlake had a negative return on equity of 1.89% and a negative net margin of 14.91%.The business’s revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.31) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 1.9 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. Westlake’s payout ratio is presently -16.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total transaction of $1,756,916.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,484,178.36. The trade was a 28.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Westlake by 433.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 37,011 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,737,000 after acquiring an additional 30,072 shares during the last quarter. Aventail Capital Group LP bought a new position in Westlake in the 3rd quarter worth about $6,037,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Westlake by 61.3% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 117,151 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,028,000 after acquiring an additional 44,525 shares during the last quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Westlake in the 3rd quarter worth about $8,862,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Westlake by 51.6% in the 3rd quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 260,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $20,025,000 after acquiring an additional 88,499 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Westlake

Here are the key news stories impacting Westlake this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company sustainability win — Westlake Epoxy’s Deer Park site earned ISCC PLUS certification, expanding its EpoVIVE mass-balance offering across Europe and the U.S., which could help win customers and support premium product mix. ISCC PLUS Certification
• Positive Sentiment: Management noted late-quarter margin improvement and rising resin prices, which may help margins recover if sustained into upcoming quarters. Zacks: Q1 Earnings Miss
• Neutral Sentiment: Company published its Q1 2026 results, slide deck and call transcript (detailed disclosures available), providing investors with the full detail to model recovery timing and cash-flow impacts. Use the materials to check segment trends and cost actions. BusinessWire: Q1 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo trimmed its price target from $125 to $110 and kept an “equal weight” rating — the new TP still implies modest upside from current levels but reflects more conservative near-term expectations. Benzinga: Wells Fargo
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 financial miss — Westlake reported a $0.77 loss per share vs. consensus around a $0.10 loss and revenue of $2.65B vs. ~$2.79B expected; revenue fell about 6.8% year-over-year, driven by lower prices and weaker end-market demand. MarketBeat: Earnings Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade — JPMorgan cut WLK from “neutral” to “underweight” and set a $90 target, signaling expectations for more downside as cyclical headwinds persist. Benzinga: JPMorgan
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction — coverage notes and headlines report shares plunged after the earnings miss and weak outlook; higher volume suggests the move reflects broad concern about near-term demand and profitability. Yahoo: Shares Plunge
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst consensus still projects positive FY EPS (street ~ $1.90 for the year), so the market will be watching upcoming quarters for evidence of margin recovery and volume stabilization before changing longer-term views. (See earnings call transcript for management commentary.) Seeking Alpha: Call Transcript

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.