Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target Lowered to $130.00 at Morgan Stanley

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $130.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price indicates a potential upside of 14.72% from the stock's current price.

WLK has been the subject of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Westlake from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $154.85.

Westlake Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of WLK traded up $3.28 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $113.32. The stock had a trading volume of 683,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 613,630. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The business's fifty day moving average is $122.17 and its 200 day moving average is $135.60. Westlake has a 52-week low of $108.95 and a 52-week high of $162.64. The firm has a market cap of $14.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 159.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.18.

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 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Westlake news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total transaction of $225,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,004,758.72. The trade was a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 74.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in Westlake by 43.2% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 8,400.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the 2nd quarter valued at $66,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth $75,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.