Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Rating Upgraded by Bank of America

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $174.00 target price on the specialty chemicals company's stock, up from their previous target price of $138.00. Bank of America's price objective indicates a potential upside of 16.82% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Westlake from $139.00 to $134.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Vertical Research downgraded Westlake from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $154.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Westlake from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $144.43.

Westlake Trading Up 0.2 %

WLK traded up $0.36 during trading on Thursday, hitting $148.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 494,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 388,410. Westlake has a twelve month low of $103.28 and a twelve month high of $162.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $146.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.52, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.30.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.09). Westlake had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.79 earnings per share. Westlake's quarterly revenue was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westlake

In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,804 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.02, for a total value of $677,460.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,389,052.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Westlake news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total value of $560,371.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,055,308. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,804 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.02, for a total value of $677,460.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,389,052.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,658 shares of company stock worth $1,923,225 in the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. 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.