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 report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $127.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $108.00. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 19.62% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Westlake from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Westlake from $88.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a research note on Friday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.73.

Westlake Price Performance

Westlake stock opened at $106.17 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Westlake has a 52-week low of $56.33 and a 52-week high of $113.51. The firm has a market cap of $13.58 billion, a PE ratio of -9.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 35.21 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s 50 day moving average is $88.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.24.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. KBC Group NV raised its stake 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 worth $3,646,000 after acquiring an additional 21,319 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the second quarter valued at approximately $404,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Westlake in the 2nd quarter worth $104,314,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 142.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 25,833 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,963,000 after acquiring an additional 15,193 shares during the period. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 246.0% during the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,456,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $110,621,000 after buying an additional 1,035,851 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is 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.