Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Given New $84.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by investment analysts at Bank of America from $90.00 to $84.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. Bank of America's target price indicates a potential upside of 16.77% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $76.00 target price (down from $95.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Westlake from $130.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $94.00 price objective on shares of Westlake and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One 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.com, Westlake currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $90.54.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WLK traded down $1.31 on Wednesday, hitting $71.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 355,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 709,335. The company has a market capitalization of $9.22 billion, a PE ratio of 24.21, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.63 and a quick ratio of 1.86. Westlake has a 1 year low of $68.55 and a 1 year high of $153.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.96.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 4.19%. Westlake's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 17.7% in 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 buying an additional 586,178 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Westlake by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,877,973 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $444,610,000 after purchasing an additional 21,293 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Westlake by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,041,190 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $104,150,000 after buying an additional 102,268 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Westlake by 732.7% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 993,150 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $113,865,000 after acquiring an additional 873,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Westlake by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 983,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $112,711,000 after acquiring an additional 58,093 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Company Profile

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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