Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Given New $165.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective cut by BMO Capital Markets from $171.00 to $165.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on WLK. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. UBS Group cut their price target on Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.17.

Westlake Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $128.31 on Wednesday. Westlake has a 1 year low of $118.64 and a 1 year 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $139.54 and its 200-day moving average is $145.66. The company has a market capitalization of $16.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 180.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.19.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake 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 valued at $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Westlake by 1.7% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,554 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $849,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Westlake by 3.8% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 3.8% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,724 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 3.4% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,518 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $532,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

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.