Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Raised to “Outperform” at BMO Capital Markets

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) was upgraded by BMO Capital Markets from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $127.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $108.00. BMO Capital Markets’ price target suggests a potential upside of 23.12% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on WLK. Morgan Stanley set a $80.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Westlake from $82.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Westlake from $92.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.73.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $103.15 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 36.10 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s 50-day moving average is $90.13 and its 200 day moving average is $80.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.24. Westlake has a fifty-two week low of $56.33 and a fifty-two week high of $113.51.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $1.22. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 13.50% and a negative return on equity of 1.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.06 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total transaction of $1,756,916.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 44,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,484,178.36. The trade was a 28.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.57, for a total value of $3,004,304.52. Following the sale, the chairman owned 627,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,181,507.54. This represents a 6.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Westlake in the 2nd quarter worth about $404,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Westlake by 79.9% during the second quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 48,014 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,646,000 after buying an additional 21,319 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the second quarter worth about $104,314,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 142.8% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 25,833 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,963,000 after buying an additional 15,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 61.3% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 117,151 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,028,000 after acquiring an additional 44,525 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.