Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Lowered to "Sell" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Westlake (NYSE:WLK) from "hold" to "sell", though the consensus analyst rating remains an average "Hold" with a $110.19 price target and mixed views from other brokers (Citigroup, UBS, RBC among them).
• Westlake beat EPS expectations in the latest quarter (reported ($0.25) vs. ($1.47) estimate) but revenue fell 10.9% year‑over‑year and the company recorded a negative net margin (-13.5%) and negative return on equity.
• CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares (~$1.76M) in late February, cutting his holding by 28.15%, while institutional ownership stands at about 28.4% after large position increases by Wellington, Orbis, Vanguard and Dimensional.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on WLK. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Westlake from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $129.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Westlake and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $110.19.

Westlake Price Performance

NYSE WLK opened at $115.02 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $14.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.83 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Westlake has a 1 year low of $56.33 and a 1 year high of $124.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.86.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $1.22. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 13.50% and a negative return on equity of 1.22%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.06 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Westlake will post 1.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total value of $1,756,916.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,433 shares in the company, valued at $4,484,178.36. This trade represents a 28.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 4,386,635 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $324,348,000 after purchasing an additional 472,224 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Westlake by 7,239.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,220,717 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $312,080,000 after buying an additional 4,163,207 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Westlake by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,917,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $289,647,000 after buying an additional 477,698 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Westlake during the fourth quarter worth $160,548,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Westlake by 45.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,885,678 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $139,431,000 after purchasing an additional 585,438 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corp. is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, polymers and building products, serving customers across industrial and residential markets. The company's core operations encompass the production of vinyls—primarily polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and its key feedstock vinyl chloride monomer (VCM)—as well as chlor-alkali products including caustic soda and chlorine. In addition, Westlake produces ethylene, propylene and specialty elastomers, along with construction-related materials such as vinyl siding, trim, windows and roofing systems.

Operating a network of vertically integrated plants and distribution centers, Westlake serves markets in North America, Europe and Asia.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.