KeyCorp Begins Coverage on Westlake (NYSE:WLK)

Posted by Stanley Muller on Sep 11th, 2026

Analysts at KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set an “overweight” rating and a $92.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. KeyCorp’s target price indicates a potential upside of 28.60% from the stock’s previous close. 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 research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Westlake from $127.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research raised Westlake from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Westlake from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.79.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Westlake

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $71.54 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.47 and a beta of 0.63. Westlake has a 52 week low of $56.33 and a 52 week high of $124.23. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $75.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.18. Westlake had a negative net margin of 10.94% and a positive return on equity of 0.93%. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.11) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Westlake will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Westlake

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position in shares of Westlake by 1.3% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 8,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $935,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 28,134 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,136,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Westlake by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $178,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in Westlake by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 6,868 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $802,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Westlake

(Get Free Report)

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.