There’s a lot to be optimistic about in the Consumer Goods sector as 2 analysts just weighed in on Westlake Chemical Corp (WLK) and Kellogg (K) with bullish sentiments.
Westlake Chemical Corp (WLK)
Alembic Global analyst Hassan Ahmed maintained a Buy rating on Westlake Chemical Corp today and set a price target of $135. The company’s shares opened today at $78.03.
Ahmed commented:
“We peg recurring EPS at USD2.10¾a slight beat relative to the consensus estimate of USD2.09. Q3 reported EBITDA of USD580m handily beat the consensus, which was USD548m. Quarter-over-quarter, Olefins segment volumes rose 17.8%, while Vinyl segment volumes declined by 0.7%. While some may argue that q-o-q volume growth within the Olefins segment was primarily because of easy comparisons on the back of reduced planned and unplanned turnarounds in Q3’18, we contend that segment volumes were up 6.1% y-o-y, suggesting to us that while reduced turnarounds may have played a role, the company also certainly benefited from strong underlying demand and solid operations in the quarter. Olefins segment pricing declined 5.6% q-o-q, while Vinyls segment pricing compressed by 1.6%. Annualized Q3’18 run-rate EBITDA was USD2,320m, compared to the current 2019 consensus estimate of USD2,162m.”
According to TipRanks.com, Ahmed is a 1-star analyst with an average return of -1.1% and a 42.6% success rate. Ahmed covers the Consumer Goods sector, focusing on stocks such as Venator Materials Plc, LyondellBasell, and Celanese Corp.
Westlake Chemical Corp has an analyst consensus of Moderate Buy, with a price target consensus of $106.86.
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Kellogg (K)
In a report released today, John Eade from Argus Research maintained a Buy rating on Kellogg, with a price target of $74. The company’s shares opened today at $63.29.
Eade has an average return of 1.0% when recommending Kellogg.
According to TipRanks.com, Eade is ranked #121 out of 4905 analysts.
Currently, the analyst consensus on Kellogg is a Hold with an average price target of $71.55, representing a 13.1% upside. In a report issued on October 31, Piper Jaffray also reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a $74 price target.
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