Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Rating Increased to Overweight at Barclays

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) was upgraded by stock analysts at Barclays from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $180.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $162.00. Barclays‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 20.82% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Westlake from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $157.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Mizuho began 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. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $167.50.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of WLK opened at $148.98 on Monday. Westlake has a fifty-two week low of $112.77 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.16 billion, a PE ratio of 74.86, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50-day moving average is $143.58 and its 200-day moving average is $148.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 2.27%. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Westlake will post 7.13 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 54.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 48,169 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,742,000 after purchasing an additional 16,964 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 81.0% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 31,797 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,450,000 after buying an additional 14,228 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter worth about $255,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Westlake by 460.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 85,008 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $11,898,000 after purchasing an additional 69,838 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $308,000. Hedge funds and other 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.