Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Earns "Equal Weight" Rating from Wells Fargo & Company

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "equal weight" rating reaffirmed by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $76.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company's stock, down from their previous price objective of $95.00. Wells Fargo & Company's price target points to a potential downside of 4.94% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on WLK. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Westlake from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Bank of America raised Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $116.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Westlake from $130.00 to $116.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Westlake from $122.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $132.00 to $117.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $104.23.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $79.95 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 112.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. The company's 50-day moving average is $92.08 and its 200 day moving average is $108.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. Westlake has a fifty-two week low of $76.97 and a fifty-two week high of $161.31.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($1.01). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Westlake by 247.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 6,316.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 1,668.2% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 127.1% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 427 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is 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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