Royal Bank Of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective increased by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $88.00 to $92.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price suggests a potential upside of 13.43% from the stock’s current price.

WLK has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Westlake from $118.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 target price (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Westlake from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Westlake from $130.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.85.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $81.11 on Thursday. Westlake has a fifty-two week low of $68.55 and a fifty-two week high of $153.34. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $77.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $10.40 billion, a PE ratio of 27.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 0.91.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($1.01). Westlake had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 4.19%. The business had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WLK. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 8,900 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,020,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 236,354 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,098,000 after purchasing an additional 11,992 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,430,000. Aigen Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 5,251 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $602,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.