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

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) was upgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $90.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 1.44% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective (down from $145.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.43.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK stock opened at $88.72 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $110.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.13. The company has a market cap of $11.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.99 and a beta of 0.67. Westlake has a 12 month low of $56.33 and a 12 month high of $124.23.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.67). Westlake had a negative return on equity of 1.89% and a negative net margin of 14.91%.The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.31) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Westlake will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westlake

In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,484,178.36. This represents a 28.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 433.4% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 37,011 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,737,000 after buying an additional 30,072 shares during the period. Aventail Capital Group LP acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the third quarter worth about $6,037,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 61.3% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 117,151 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,028,000 after buying an additional 44,525 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 51.6% during the third quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 260,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $20,025,000 after buying an additional 88,499 shares during the period. Finally, Impala Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the third quarter worth about $8,862,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

About Westlake

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.