Barclays Lowers Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $100.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by equities researchers at Barclays from $135.00 to $100.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. Barclays's price objective points to a potential upside of 25.75% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Westlake from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Westlake from $132.00 to $117.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Westlake from $144.00 to $127.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 target price (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $118.08.

Westlake Stock Performance

Westlake stock traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $79.53. The company had a trading volume of 775,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 579,695. Westlake has a one year low of $78.51 and a one year high of $161.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $98.40 and a 200 day moving average of $113.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The firm has a market cap of $10.22 billion, a PE ratio of 112.00, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($1.01). The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in Westlake by 2.4% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 40,613 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $6,104,000 after acquiring an additional 940 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Westlake by 84.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 72.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 13,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,522,000 after buying an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter worth $307,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Westlake

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.

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