Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Given New $160.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price decreased by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $180.00 to $160.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 16.55% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays upgraded shares of Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Westlake from $174.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.25.

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE:WLK traded up $4.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $137.28. The stock had a trading volume of 228,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 436,686. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.83, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $140.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.37. 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 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by ($0.80). Westlake had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 2.27%. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Westlake will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Westlake during the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 8,400.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake in the second quarter valued at approximately $66,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Westlake in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in Westlake by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 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.