Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target Cut to $130.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada cut Westlake’s price target from $145 to $130, while keeping an outperform rating on the stock.
• Westlake’s latest earnings missed expectations, with EPS of -$0.77 versus the expected -$0.10 and revenue of $2.65 billion below estimates; revenue also fell 6.8% year over year.
• The stock was trading at $98.33 on Monday, and analyst sentiment remains mixed, with MarketBeat showing an average Hold rating and an average price target of $109.73.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $145.00 to $130.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's target price would indicate a potential upside of 32.21% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Westlake in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $119.00 price target on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Westlake from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Westlake from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $108.00 to $127.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.73.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WLK traded up $4.48 on Monday, hitting $98.33. The company had a trading volume of 496,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,313,161. The stock has a market cap of $12.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.75 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $111.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.45. Westlake has a 1-year low of $56.33 and a 1-year high of $124.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.67). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. Westlake had a negative return on equity of 1.89% and a negative net margin of 14.91%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.31) EPS. Analysts expect that Westlake will post 3.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total transaction of $1,756,916.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 44,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,484,178.36. This represents a 28.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Westlake in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Westlake by 71.3% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 562 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in Westlake in the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Westlake by 180.3% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 740 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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