Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $168.00.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group cut their price target on Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com cut Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 14th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Westlake in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 8,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its position in Westlake by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $101,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $145.99. 318,057 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 433,274. The company has a market cap of $18.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.39, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.20. Westlake has a 12-month low of $112.77 and a 12-month high of $162.64. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $146.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.77. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.41. Westlake had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.