Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Price Target Lowered at Truist Financial

Key Points

• Truist lowered its Westlake price target from $90 to $81 but maintained a Buy rating, implying 27.09% upside from the stock’s current price.
• Analyst views are mixed: Westlake has an average Hold rating and an average price target of $80.40, with four Buy, eight Hold, and three Sell ratings.
• Westlake’s latest quarterly EPS of $0.45 missed the $0.49 consensus estimate, while revenue of $2.98 billion topped forecasts and grew 5% year over year.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at Truist Financial from $90.00 to $81.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. Truist Financial's price objective points to a potential upside of 27.09% from the stock's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on WLK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Westlake from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Westlake in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Westlake in a research report on Monday, October 12th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $66.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $76.00 price target on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Westlake in a report on Friday, September 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $92.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $80.40.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $63.73 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $8.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.32 and a beta of 0.66. Westlake has a 52 week low of $56.33 and a 52 week high of $124.23. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $67.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.18.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Westlake had a positive return on equity of 1.99% and a negative net margin of 3.91%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.29) EPS. Research analysts predict that Westlake will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was 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 directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the second quarter valued at approximately $240,474,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Westlake by 54.4% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 352,448 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $21,961,000 after acquiring an additional 124,129 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $19,544,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 52,551 shares during the period. Finally, Robotti Robert acquired a new position in Westlake in the 2nd quarter valued at $17,183,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corporation is a global manufacturer of materials and products used in construction, packaging, consumer goods, and other industries. Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company serves customers through operations in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Westlake's Performance and Essential Materials business produces petrochemicals and materials such as polyethylene, styrene, chlor-alkali products, and PVC resins. These materials are used in applications ranging from packaging and household products to water treatment and construction.

Through its Housing and Infrastructure Products business, Westlake supplies building and construction products including pipe and fittings, siding, trim, windows, roofing materials, and stone veneer.

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