Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Upgraded at Bank of America

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage currently has a $75.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 16.77% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on WLK. StockNews.com lowered shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price target (down from $120.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.23.

Westlake Trading Up 0.4 %

Westlake stock opened at $90.11 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. The stock has a market cap of $11.58 billion, a PE ratio of 126.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $104.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.30. Westlake has a one year low of $81.41 and a one year high of $161.31.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.98). The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Westlake by 72.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Westlake by 33.9% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 525 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.