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

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $174.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $138.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on WLK. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Vertical Research lowered shares of Westlake from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $154.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of Westlake from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $139.00 to $134.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $144.43.

Westlake Stock Up 0.2 %

WLK stock opened at $148.95 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 1.79. Westlake has a 52-week low of $103.28 and a 52-week high of $162.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $146.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. Westlake’s payout ratio is presently 54.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westlake

In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.02, for a total value of $677,460.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,389,052.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total transaction of $560,371.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,055,308. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,804 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.02, for a total transaction of $677,460.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,389,052.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,658 shares of company stock valued at $1,923,225. 74.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Westlake in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Westlake in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Westlake by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Westlake in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Westlake in the second quarter valued at $36,000. 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.