BMO Capital Markets Lowers Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $165.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price trimmed by BMO Capital Markets from $171.00 to $165.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on WLK. StockNews.com cut shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America upgraded Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group cut their target price on Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.17.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $126.66 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 178.39, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. Westlake has a one year low of $118.64 and a one year high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by ($0.80). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Westlake by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 7,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 1.7% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,554 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $849,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Westlake by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,724 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

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.