Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Rating Upgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) was upgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a $110.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $135.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 2.13% from the stock’s previous close.

WLK has been the subject of several other research reports. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.07.

Westlake Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of WLK opened at $112.39 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake has a 12-month low of $104.74 and a 12-month high of $162.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $113.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 158.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.98). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. purchased a new position in Westlake in the 4th quarter valued at $300,000. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in Westlake by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,393 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in Westlake by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 5,190 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $595,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Westlake by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 346,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $39,759,000 after buying an additional 28,505 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its position in Westlake by 3,182.3% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 219,030 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,112,000 after buying an additional 212,357 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.