Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Upgraded at Barclays

15 Oct 2026, 13:22 by Sarita Garza · The Markets Daily

Barclays upgraded shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Free Report) to a strong sell rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on WLK. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Westlake from $89.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $85.00 target price on Westlake in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Westlake from $106.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Westlake from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.87.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on WLK

Westlake Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $62.28 on Monday. Westlake has a 12-month low of $56.33 and a 12-month high of $124.23. The business has a 50 day moving average of $71.37 and a 200-day moving average of $84.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $7.96 billion, a PE ratio of -6.50 and a beta of 0.69.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. Westlake had a positive return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 10.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($1.11) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Westlake will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th were given a $0.5330 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 25th. This is a positive change from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -22.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total value of $3,120,724.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 642,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,610,406.40. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Westlake by 166.2% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,608 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 1,004 shares in the last quarter. Core Capital Management & Research inc. bought a new position in Westlake in the 2nd quarter valued at about $264,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Westlake by 59.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 76,055 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,552,000 after buying an additional 28,235 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its holdings in Westlake by 67.8% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 71,301 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,205,000 after buying an additional 28,802 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Westlake by 58,450.0% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,171 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 1,169 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Westlake Corporation (NYSE: WLK) is a global manufacturer of performance and essential materials used in construction, infrastructure, packaging, healthcare, automotive, and consumer products. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company operates through businesses focused on producing chemical building blocks, polymers, and specialty materials.