Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Given New $135.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price target lowered by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $155.00 to $135.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 18.82% from the stock’s previous close.

WLK has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays upgraded shares of Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America upgraded Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.92.

Westlake Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:WLK opened at $113.62 on Tuesday. Westlake has a 12-month low of $110.76 and a 12-month high of $162.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $123.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.64. The firm has a market cap of $14.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 160.03, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.18.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Westlake news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total transaction of $225,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. This trade represents a 18.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Westlake by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 8,400.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Westlake during the third quarter worth approximately $62,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Westlake in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Westlake in the 3rd quarter valued at $75,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

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.