Barclays Upgrades Westlake (NYSE:WLK) to "Strong Sell"

Key Points

• Barclays upgraded Westlake to a “strong sell” rating, adding to mixed analyst sentiment. The stock has an average “hold” rating and a consensus price target of $83.87.
• Westlake shares opened at $62.28, well below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $71.37 and $84.36, respectively, and near the company’s one-year low of $56.33.
• The company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $2.01 versus the $1.83 consensus and revenue of $3.27 billion, up 10.8% year over year.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Barclays to a "strong sell" rating in a research note issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 target price (down from $85.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Westlake from $104.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. KeyCorp began coverage on Westlake in a research note on Friday, September 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $92.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Westlake from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Westlake from $104.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.87.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $62.28 on Monday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $71.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.45. Westlake has a one year low of $56.33 and a one year high of $124.23. The firm has a market cap of $7.96 billion, a PE ratio of -6.50 and a beta of 0.69.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.18. Westlake had a positive return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 10.94%. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($1.11) earnings per share. Westlake's quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Westlake will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westlake news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total transaction of $3,120,724.44. Following the sale, the chairman owned 642,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,610,406.40. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Westlake by 166.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,608 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004 shares during the last quarter. Core Capital Management & Research inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter valued at $264,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 59.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 76,055 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $5,552,000 after purchasing an additional 28,235 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 67.8% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 71,301 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $5,205,000 after purchasing an additional 28,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 58,450.0% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,171 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corporation NYSE: WLK is a global manufacturer of performance and essential materials used in construction, infrastructure, packaging, healthcare, automotive, and consumer products. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company operates through businesses focused on producing chemical building blocks, polymers, and specialty materials.

Its product portfolio includes polyvinyl chloride (PVC), chlor-alkali products such as caustic soda and chlorine, polyethylene, epoxy and specialty resins, and other performance chemicals.

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