Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Raised to “Buy” at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have $174.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $138.00.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on WLK. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Westlake from $139.00 to $134.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 26th. Vertical Research downgraded Westlake from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $154.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, April 8th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded Westlake from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Westlake from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their target price for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $145.79.

Westlake Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $150.76 on Thursday. Westlake has a 1 year low of $103.28 and a 1 year high of $162.64. The company has a market cap of $19.33 billion, a PE ratio of 40.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $146.61 and its 200 day moving average is $136.38.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.09). Westlake had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.05%.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In related news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total value of $560,371.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,055,308. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total transaction of $667,764.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,893,632.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total transaction of $560,371.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,658 shares of company stock valued at $1,923,225. 74.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Gyon Technologies Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Westlake during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Westlake by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Westlake during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.