Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Upgraded to “Neutral” at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) was upgraded by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Finviz reports. The firm presently has a $110.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $135.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would suggest a potential downside of 2.24% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on WLK. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Westlake from $168.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.07.

Westlake Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of WLK stock opened at $112.52 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $113.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.76. 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 stock has a market cap of $14.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 158.47, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17. Westlake has a twelve month low of $104.74 and a twelve month high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total transaction of $225,890.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,004,758.72. This trade represents a 18.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Westlake by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 7,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,181,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Westlake by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 14,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,690,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Westlake by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its stake in Westlake by 2.2% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.