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

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group upgraded Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup raised Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.21.

Westlake Stock Down 7.6 %

WLK stock traded down $7.71 during trading on Thursday, hitting $94.30. 1,118,222 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 546,571. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $109.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 132.82, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. Westlake has a 52-week low of $93.68 and a 52-week high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 247.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Westlake by 6,316.7% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Westlake by 1,668.2% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 72.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

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.