Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at Citigroup from $100.00 to $124.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Citigroup’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 23.68% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on WLK. Alembic Global Advisors set a $80.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday, November 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Westlake in a report on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Westlake from $92.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Westlake from $88.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.80.

Westlake Price Performance

Westlake stock traded down $2.83 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $100.26. The company had a trading volume of 611,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,433,579. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Westlake has a 12-month low of $56.33 and a 12-month high of $114.75. The company has a market capitalization of $12.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.57, a P/E/G ratio of 52.44 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $85.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.47.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $1.22. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. Westlake had a negative return on equity of 1.22% and a negative net margin of 13.50%.Westlake’s quarterly revenue was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.06 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In other news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.57, for a total value of $3,004,304.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 627,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,181,507.54. The trade was a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Westlake by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,108 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Westlake by 11.8% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,433 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 0.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 28,134 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,136,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its position in shares of Westlake by 4.1% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 5,020 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Westlake by 54.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 567 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Westlake

Westlake Corp. is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, polymers and building products, serving customers across industrial and residential markets. The company’s core operations encompass the production of vinyls—primarily polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and its key feedstock vinyl chloride monomer (VCM)—as well as chlor-alkali products including caustic soda and chlorine. In addition, Westlake produces ethylene, propylene and specialty elastomers, along with construction-related materials such as vinyl siding, trim, windows and roofing systems.

Operating a network of vertically integrated plants and distribution centers, Westlake serves markets in North America, Europe and Asia.