Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Upgraded to “Buy” by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) was upgraded by investment analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Briefing.com reports. The firm currently has a $174.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $138.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s target price points to a potential upside of 17.13% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Westlake from $139.00 to $134.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Vertical Research cut Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $154.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, April 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.21.

Westlake Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE WLK opened at $148.55 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $146.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Westlake has a 52 week low of $103.28 and a 52 week high of $162.64. The company has a market capitalization of $19.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.30.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In other news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total transaction of $667,764.78. Following the transaction, 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 can be accessed 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 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 owns 21,144 shares in the company, valued at $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 13,658 shares of company stock valued at $1,923,225. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Westlake by 106.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,311,836 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $183,605,000 after purchasing an additional 675,725 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Westlake by 189.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 802,507 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $99,029,000 after purchasing an additional 524,828 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Westlake by 959.2% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 554,086 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,866,000 after purchasing an additional 501,774 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 420.1% in the first quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 610,892 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $70,851,000 after buying an additional 493,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter worth about $50,961,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.