Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Rating Lowered to “Neutral” at Piper Sandler

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $120.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $135.00. Piper Sandler’s target price indicates a potential upside of 16.58% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup raised Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $168.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Westlake from $147.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $139.00.

Westlake Trading Up 1.3 %

WLK stock opened at $102.93 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 144.98, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. Westlake has a 1-year low of $99.18 and a 1-year high of $162.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.39.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 previous year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Westlake by 1.1% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 7,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 14,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,690,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 43.2% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its position in Westlake by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 4,877 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $572,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

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.