Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $90.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $76.00 to $90.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 6.50% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on WLK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets set a $94.00 price objective on Westlake and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Westlake from $130.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Westlake from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Westlake from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.54.

Westlake Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $84.51 on Monday. Westlake has a 52 week low of $68.55 and a 52 week high of $153.34. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $10.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.32, a P/E/G ratio of 10.15 and a beta of 0.91.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 4.19% and a net margin of 3.23%. The company had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Westlake by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 236,354 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $27,098,000 after buying an additional 11,992 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,411,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Westlake by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its position in shares of Westlake by 28.1% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,877 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $788,000 after buying an additional 1,507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Westlake by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 15,906 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,824,000 after buying an additional 2,055 shares during the last quarter. 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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