Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Price

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective decreased by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $180.00 to $160.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 16.55% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $174.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Westlake in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays raised Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Two 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.25.

Westlake Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of WLK traded up $4.73 on Wednesday, reaching $137.28. 228,588 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 436,686. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $140.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.37. Westlake has a 12 month low of $118.64 and a 12 month high of $162.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WLK. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Westlake in the second quarter valued at $27,179,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 90.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 386,480 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $58,084,000 after acquiring an additional 183,666 shares in the last quarter. Appian Way Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake in the first quarter valued at about $25,154,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Westlake by 3,330.4% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 150,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $23,802,000 after acquiring an additional 145,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Westlake during the third quarter valued at approximately $15,295,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.