BMO Capital Markets Reiterates "$94.00" Price Target for Westlake (NYSE:WLK)

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) has been assigned a $94.00 price target by equities research analysts at BMO Capital Markets in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a "market perform" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price objective would indicate a potential upside of 31.22% from the company's current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $116.00 to $75.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $116.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $122.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $103.54.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of WLK stock traded down $0.70 on Tuesday, hitting $71.64. 979,929 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 639,146. The firm has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.90, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. Westlake has a 52 week low of $70.28 and a 52 week high of $161.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.47. 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 (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business's revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 247.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Westlake by 251.1% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 316 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Westlake by 127.1% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 427 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Westlake by 6,316.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Westlake by 1,668.2% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.