Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target Lowered to $167.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price target lowered by Royal Bank of Canada from $170.00 to $167.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on WLK. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays raised Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.17.

Westlake Stock Down 1.2 %

WLK stock opened at $126.69 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 178.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.19. Westlake has a 12 month low of $118.64 and a 12 month high of $162.64. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $139.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). The business had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Westlake by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 14,771 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,257,000 after purchasing an additional 2,382 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Westlake by 5.5% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,984 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,123,000 after buying an additional 1,397 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Westlake during the first quarter worth $207,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in Westlake by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 34,153 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,219,000 after buying an additional 2,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 22,179 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,389,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Company Profile

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.