Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Price

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Westlake in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised shares of Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. 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 Trading Down 3.1 %

NYSE WLK opened at $132.15 on Wednesday. Westlake has a 52 week low of $118.64 and a 52 week high of $162.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $140.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $16.99 billion, a PE ratio of 186.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.19.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Westlake will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WLK. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 14.0% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,550 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,135,000 after buying an additional 930 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Westlake in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,353,000. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Westlake in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $225,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 1.1% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,021 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,506,000 after purchasing an additional 395 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.