BMO Capital Markets Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Price

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price dropped by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $157.00 to $132.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective points to a potential upside of 16.93% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also commented on WLK. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.86.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK stock traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $112.89. The stock had a trading volume of 46,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 591,657. The company has a market cap of $14.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 159.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17. Westlake has a 52-week low of $104.74 and a 52-week high of $162.64. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $113.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.88. 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 (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.98). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westlake

In other news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the company’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 owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. This represents a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 74.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of Westlake by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 14,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Westlake by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 4,877 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 104 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.