Piper Sandler Lowers Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $135.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective dropped by equities researchers at Piper Sandler from $155.00 to $135.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target suggests a potential upside of 22.15% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on WLK. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America raised Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $151.00 to $159.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays raised Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Westlake currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $156.92.

Westlake Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of WLK opened at $110.52 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake has a 12 month low of $108.95 and a 12 month high of $162.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $123.50 and its 200-day moving average is $136.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.22 billion, a PE ratio of 155.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.18.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). The company had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. Westlake’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westlake news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. This trade represents a 18.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in Westlake by 8,400.0% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 72.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Westlake by 84.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the third quarter worth approximately $62,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently 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.