Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target Cut to $144.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price lowered by UBS Group from $160.00 to $144.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. UBS Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 5.68% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on WLK. Bank of America raised Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays upgraded Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Westlake presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.92.

Westlake Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $136.26 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $17.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 191.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.19. Westlake has a fifty-two week low of $118.64 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $140.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.23.

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 firm had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Westlake will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Westlake in the 1st quarter valued at about $43,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 8,400.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Westlake in the second quarter worth $66,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Westlake in the third quarter worth $75,000. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in Westlake by 66.7% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.