Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on WLK. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Westlake from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $157.00 to $174.00 in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.00.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $144.28 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.61. Westlake has a one year low of $112.77 and a one year high of $162.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.50, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s fifty day moving average is $143.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.43.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.41. Westlake had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The firm had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Westlake will post 7.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors increased its position in Westlake by 106.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,311,836 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $183,605,000 after purchasing an additional 675,725 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter worth $50,961,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Westlake in the second quarter valued at $27,179,000. Appian Way Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Westlake during the first quarter valued at about $25,154,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Westlake by 3,330.4% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 150,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $23,802,000 after acquiring an additional 145,673 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Westlake

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.