Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $162.67.

WLK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Mizuho started coverage on Westlake in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Westlake by 19.2% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 14,771 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,257,000 after acquiring an additional 2,382 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 1st quarter worth approximately $207,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 34,153 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,219,000 after buying an additional 2,718 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 1.2% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 22,179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,389,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Midwest Professional Planners LTD. increased its holdings in Westlake by 13.1% during the first quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 2,203 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE:WLK opened at $127.75 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake has a 1-year low of $118.64 and a 1-year high of $162.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 179.93, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.19. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $139.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.78.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by ($0.80). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Westlake will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current year.

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.