Truist Financial Lowers Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $104.00

Key Points

• Truist Financial cut its price target on Westlake from $127 to $104, while keeping a buy rating. That target still implies about 34.8% upside from the previous close.
• Westlake has seen several other analysts lower their targets as well, and the stock now carries a broader consensus of Hold with an average price target of $97.64.
• The stock was trading at $77.15, down 0.6% on the day, after Westlake reported a weak quarter with EPS of -$0.77 and revenue of $2.65 billion, both below expectations.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by investment analysts at Truist Financial from $127.00 to $104.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. Truist Financial's target price would indicate a potential upside of 34.80% from the stock's previous close.

WLK has been the subject of several other research reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $104.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Westlake from $110.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $117.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Westlake from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Westlake from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $97.64.

Westlake Trading Down 0.6%

WLK stock traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $77.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 67,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,233,088. Westlake has a 1 year low of $56.33 and a 1 year high of $124.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.06 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.17.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.67). Westlake had a negative return on equity of 1.89% and a negative net margin of 14.91%.The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.31) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Westlake will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 433.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 37,011 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,737,000 after purchasing an additional 30,072 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Westlake during the 4th quarter worth $14,062,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Westlake by 53.6% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 50,715 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $3,750,000 after buying an additional 17,689 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its position in Westlake by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 204,226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $15,100,000 after buying an additional 15,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new stake in Westlake in the fourth quarter valued at about $798,000. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corp. is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, polymers and building products, serving customers across industrial and residential markets. The company's core operations encompass the production of vinyls—primarily polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and its key feedstock vinyl chloride monomer (VCM)—as well as chlor-alkali products including caustic soda and chlorine. In addition, Westlake produces ethylene, propylene and specialty elastomers, along with construction-related materials such as vinyl siding, trim, windows and roofing systems.

Operating a network of vertically integrated plants and distribution centers, Westlake serves markets in North America, Europe and Asia.

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