Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Given New $133.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price target cut by stock analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $147.00 to $133.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 18.46% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Westlake from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Westlake from $168.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.86.

Westlake Trading Up 0.2 %

Westlake stock traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $112.27. The company had a trading volume of 140,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 594,292. The firm has a market cap of $14.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 158.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17. Westlake has a 12-month low of $104.74 and a 12-month high of $162.64. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $113.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.88.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. 74.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Westlake by 732.7% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 993,150 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $113,865,000 after purchasing an additional 873,888 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Westlake by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,313,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $379,933,000 after purchasing an additional 574,068 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in Westlake by 699.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 595,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $89,445,000 after purchasing an additional 520,669 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Westlake in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,630,000. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP acquired a new position in shares of Westlake during the third quarter worth about $55,542,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently 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.