Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) had its target price upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $76.00 to $90.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock.

WLK has been the subject of a number of other reports. Mizuho cut their price objective on Westlake from $100.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 2nd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Westlake from $101.00 to $99.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $117.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.77.

Westlake Stock Performance

WLK stock traded up $2.20 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $83.45. 368,962 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 753,274. Westlake has a 52 week low of $68.55 and a 52 week high of $153.34. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $77.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 2.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.70 billion, a PE ratio of 27.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.72 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Westlake by 732.7% in the fourth 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 stake in shares of Westlake in the 1st quarter worth about $72,974,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in 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 during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Westlake by 17.7% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,900,025 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $390,120,000 after acquiring an additional 586,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Westlake in the fourth quarter worth about $46,630,000. Hedge funds and other 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.