Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Bank of America from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $159.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company's stock, up from their prior price objective of $151.00. Bank of America's price target suggests a potential upside of 12.13% from the stock's previous close.
Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays upgraded shares of Westlake from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Westlake in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Westlake from $174.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $165.92.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on WLK
WLK opened at $141.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $144.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $148.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.17. Westlake has a 1-year low of $112.77 and a 1-year high of $162.64.
Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.41. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 2.27%. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Westlake will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,334,579 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $203,924,000 after buying an additional 22,743 shares during the period. Merewether Investment Management LP lifted its stake in Westlake by 17.4% in the second quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 223,366 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $32,348,000 after acquiring an additional 33,100 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,179,000. Appian Way Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,154,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 145,673 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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.
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