Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Upgraded by KeyCorp to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) was upgraded by KeyCorp to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Zacks reports. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Westlake’s Q3 2026 earnings at $1.09 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.56 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $2.55 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $2.70 EPS.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (up from $89.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Westlake from $110.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research upgraded Westlake from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Westlake from $110.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.92.

Westlake Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of WLK stock opened at $71.54 on Thursday. Westlake has a 1-year low of $56.33 and a 1-year high of $124.23. The firm has a market cap of $9.14 billion, a PE ratio of -7.47 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $75.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 10.94% and a positive return on equity of 0.93%. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.11) EPS. On average, analysts predict that Westlake will post 3.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Westlake news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total value of $3,120,724.44. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 642,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,610,406.40. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WLK. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its holdings in Westlake by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 4,386,635 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $324,348,000 after buying an additional 472,224 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Westlake by 7,239.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,220,717 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $312,080,000 after buying an additional 4,163,207 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth about $240,474,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 5,958.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,693,700 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $196,640,000 after acquiring an additional 2,649,241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter valued at about $160,548,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Westlake

Westlake Corporation is a global manufacturer of performance and essential materials headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company produces chemicals, polymers and building products used in construction, infrastructure, packaging, healthcare, consumer goods and other industrial applications.

Its Performance and Essential Materials businesses manufacture products such as chlor-alkali chemicals, vinyl chloride monomer, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene, epoxy resins and related specialty materials.