Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Given New $79.00 Price Target at Royal Bank Of Canada

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price reduced by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $87.00 to $79.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target suggests a potential upside of 13.07% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Mizuho set a $90.00 price target on Westlake and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. UBS Group set a $93.00 target price on Westlake and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America raised Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $87.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.86.

Westlake Trading Up 1.5%

WLK stock traded up $1.06 on Monday, reaching $69.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 165,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,058,128. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.95. Westlake has a 12-month low of $65.77 and a 12-month high of $139.59. The firm has a market cap of $8.96 billion, a PE ratio of -131.62 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.47.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.29) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.47). Westlake had a negative net margin of 0.57% and a positive return on equity of 1.26%. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Westlake in the second quarter worth $104,314,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 246.0% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,456,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $110,621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035,851 shares during the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the second quarter worth approximately $62,508,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westlake in the first quarter valued at about $72,974,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 366.7% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 901,229 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $90,150,000 after acquiring an additional 708,142 shares in 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.