Bank of America Has Lowered Expectations for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Price

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price decreased by stock analysts at Bank of America from $104.00 to $85.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 16.31% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on WLK. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Westlake from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Westlake from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $108.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 price target (down from $130.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Friday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.21.

Westlake Stock Down 2.2%

NYSE WLK traded down $1.64 on Tuesday, reaching $73.08. The company had a trading volume of 303,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,251,964. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company’s fifty day moving average is $92.26 and its 200 day moving average is $94.35. Westlake has a 52-week low of $56.33 and a 52-week high of $124.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.76 and a beta of 0.58.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.67). Westlake had a negative return on equity of 1.89% and a negative net margin of 14.91%.The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.31) earnings per share. Westlake’s revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Westlake by 433.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 37,011 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,737,000 after purchasing an additional 30,072 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Westlake during the 4th quarter worth about $14,062,000. Aventail Capital Group LP bought a new position in Westlake in the 3rd quarter worth about $6,037,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in Westlake by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 204,226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $15,100,000 after purchasing an additional 15,217 shares during the period. Finally, Impala Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Westlake during the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,862,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Westlake

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.