Royal Bank of Canada Has Lowered Expectations for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Price

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $96.00 to $88.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. Royal Bank of Canada's price target indicates a potential upside of 22.88% from the company's previous close.

WLK has been the topic of a number of other reports. Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Westlake from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Westlake from $130.00 to $116.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $94.00 price target on shares of Westlake and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $100.92.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WLK traded down $1.09 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $71.62. 228,554 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 640,473. The firm has a market cap of $9.18 billion, a PE ratio of 101.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.61. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake has a fifty-two week low of $70.28 and a fifty-two week high of $161.31.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($1.01). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Westlake by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 557,943 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $63,832,000 after buying an additional 5,297 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Westlake by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 98,056 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $11,242,000 after purchasing an additional 4,088 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Westlake by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 236,354 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $27,098,000 after purchasing an additional 11,992 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Westlake by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 59,499 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $6,822,000 after buying an additional 12,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Westlake by 122.6% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 193,087 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $22,137,000 after buying an additional 106,329 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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