Royal Bank of Canada Lowers Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $167.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by Royal Bank of Canada from $170.00 to $167.00 in a note issued to investors 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 28.24% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on WLK. Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $162.67.

Westlake Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of WLK stock traded down $1.93 on Monday, hitting $130.22. The stock had a trading volume of 564,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 446,135. The firm has a market cap of $16.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 185.07, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.19. Westlake has a twelve month low of $118.64 and a twelve month high of $162.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $140.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.06.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Westlake will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Westlake by 1.1% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 7,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,181,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,554 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $849,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Westlake by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Westlake by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,724 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in Westlake by 3.4% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,518 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Westlake

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.