Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on WLK. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays decreased their price target on Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group raised shares of Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $144.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.21.

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Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK traded down $3.83 on Tuesday, reaching $99.09. 856,305 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 543,121. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $110.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The firm has a market cap of $12.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 139.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. Westlake has a 12 month low of $98.51 and a 12 month high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Westlake by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 98,056 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $11,242,000 after buying an additional 4,088 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Westlake by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 236,354 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $27,098,000 after purchasing an additional 11,992 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Westlake by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 59,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $6,822,000 after buying an additional 12,833 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Westlake by 4.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 552,646 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $82,837,000 after buying an additional 23,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,313,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $379,933,000 after buying an additional 574,068 shares during the period. 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.