BMO Capital Markets Has Lowered Expectations for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Price

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $103.00 to $94.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "market perform" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. BMO Capital Markets' target price would indicate a potential upside of 17.57% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Westlake from $122.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Westlake from $132.00 to $117.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America upgraded Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $116.00 to $75.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $76.00 target price (down from $95.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $103.54.

Westlake Stock Down 2.6%

Westlake stock opened at $79.95 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $92.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. Westlake has a 1-year low of $76.97 and a 1-year high of $161.31. The stock has a market cap of $10.25 billion, a PE ratio of 112.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The business's revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Westlake by 732.7% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 993,150 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $113,865,000 after purchasing an additional 873,888 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the 1st quarter valued at $72,974,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 366.7% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 901,229 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $90,150,000 after acquiring an additional 708,142 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,900,025 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $390,120,000 after acquiring an additional 586,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the 4th quarter valued at $46,630,000. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

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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