Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Given New $68.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo lowered Westlake’s price target from $89 to $68 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying approximately 8.83% upside from the reported share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but centers on a “Hold” rating: MarketBeat reports four Buy ratings, ten Holds, and one Sell, with a consensus target price of $89.64.
• Westlake reported quarterly EPS of $2.01, exceeding the $1.83 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $3.27 billion and increased 10.8% year over year.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $89.00 to $68.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would suggest a potential upside of 8.83% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Westlake in a research report on Friday, September 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $92.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Westlake from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. UBS Group set a $98.00 price target on shares of Westlake and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Westlake in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Westlake from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Four research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $89.64.

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE:WLK opened at $62.48 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $73.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.52 and a beta of 0.63. Westlake has a 1-year low of $56.33 and a 1-year high of $124.23.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.24 billion. Westlake had a positive return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 10.94%.The company's revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.11) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Westlake will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 642,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,610,406.40. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Westlake in the second quarter valued at approximately $240,474,000. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Westlake in the fourth quarter worth approximately $160,548,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its stake in Westlake by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,670,327 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $123,505,000 after purchasing an additional 121,633 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of Westlake by 61.5% during the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 420,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $31,055,000 after purchasing an additional 160,000 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 28.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 236,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $27,685,000 after buying an additional 52,551 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corporation NYSE: WLK is a global manufacturer of performance and essential materials used in construction, infrastructure, packaging, healthcare, automotive, and consumer products. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company operates through businesses focused on producing chemical building blocks, polymers, and specialty materials.

Its product portfolio includes polyvinyl chloride (PVC), chlor-alkali products such as caustic soda and chlorine, polyethylene, epoxy and specialty resins, and other performance chemicals.

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