Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $168.00.

Several analysts recently issued reports on WLK shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Westlake in a report on Thursday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Westlake in a report on Friday, June 14th. UBS Group cut their target price on Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th.

Westlake Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of WLK stock traded down $0.84 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $145.99. The stock had a trading volume of 318,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 433,274. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $146.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.77 billion, a PE ratio of 73.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.20. Westlake has a 52-week low of $112.77 and a 52-week high of $162.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,528 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,473,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd increased its stake in Westlake by 2.6% during the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 3,302 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $504,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 4,256 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Westlake by 1.7% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,554 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $849,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Westlake by 3.8% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,724 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Company Profile

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.