Royal Bank Of Canada Cuts Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $130.00

by · The Cerbat Gem

Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by Royal Bank Of Canada from $145.00 to $130.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 32.21% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on WLK. Morgan Stanley set a $115.00 target price on Westlake and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised Westlake from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $108.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Westlake from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Westlake from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued 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.com, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.73.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on WLK

Westlake Trading Up 4.8%

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

Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.31) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Westlake will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total value of $1,756,916.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 44,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,484,178.36. This trade represents a 28.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $178,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 133.8% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 830 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Westlake by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 181,070 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $21,153,000 after acquiring an additional 6,752 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 1st quarter worth approximately $291,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Westlake

(Get Free Report)

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.

Featured Stories