Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $162.17.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WLK shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays raised Westlake from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Bank of America raised Westlake from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on Westlake in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock.

Westlake Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:WLK traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $128.31. The company had a trading volume of 590,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 446,960. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a 50-day moving average of $139.54 and a 200 day moving average of $145.66. The company has a market cap of $16.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 180.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.19. Westlake has a 1 year low of $118.64 and a 1 year high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 8,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Westlake during the third quarter worth $62,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Westlake during the second quarter worth $66,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Westlake during the third quarter worth $75,000. 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.