StockNews.com Downgrades Westlake (NYSE:WLK) to Sell

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on WLK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group raised Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $136.50.

Westlake Stock Down 6.0 %

WLK opened at $88.54 on Thursday. Westlake has a fifty-two week low of $85.31 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The company’s 50-day moving average is $108.44 and its 200 day moving average is $121.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 124.71, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Westlake by 247.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 6,316.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Westlake by 1,668.2% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Westlake by 72.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Company Profile

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.