Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

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

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group raised shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.21.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK traded down $7.71 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $94.30. 1,118,222 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 546,571. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $109.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.09 billion, a PE ratio of 132.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. Westlake has a 1-year low of $93.68 and a 1-year high of $162.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04.

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

Institutional Trading of Westlake

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