Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

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

WLK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Westlake in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Westlake from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Westlake from $100.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Westlake in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Westlake from $92.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.80.

Westlake Price Performance

NYSE:WLK traded up $5.25 on Thursday, reaching $105.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,287,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,416,011. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $13.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 43.32 and a beta of 0.91. Westlake has a 1-year low of $56.33 and a 1-year high of $114.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $87.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.81.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Westlake

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Westlake by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Westlake by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,433 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 28,134 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,136,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 5,020 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Westlake by 54.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 567 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Company Profile

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.