Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Analysts

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $80.40.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WLK shares. Weiss Ratings cut Westlake from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $85.00 target price on Westlake in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research cut Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. KeyCorp started coverage on Westlake in a research note on Friday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $92.00 target price for the company. Finally, Mizuho set a $72.00 price target on Westlake in a report on Thursday, October 1st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the second quarter worth approximately $240,474,000. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Westlake by 54.4% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 352,448 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $21,961,000 after acquiring an additional 124,129 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in Westlake in the second quarter worth approximately $19,544,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Westlake by 28.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 236,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,685,000 after acquiring an additional 52,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robotti Robert acquired a new position in Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $17,183,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Price Performance

Westlake stock opened at $62.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.03 billion, a PE ratio of 44.36 and a beta of 0.66. Westlake has a 52-week low of $56.33 and a 52-week high of $124.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company’s 50 day moving average is $66.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.73.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 3.91% and a positive return on equity of 1.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.29) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Westlake will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Westlake

Westlake Corporation is a global manufacturer of materials and products used in construction, packaging, consumer goods, and other industries. Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company serves customers through operations in North America, Europe, and Asia. Westlake’s Performance and Essential Materials business produces petrochemicals and materials such as polyethylene, styrene, chlor-alkali products, and PVC resins. These materials are used in applications ranging from packaging and household products to water treatment and construction.