Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Given New $70.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at Citigroup from $67.00 to $70.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Citigroup‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 10.08% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Westlake from $95.00 to $74.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Westlake from $104.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Mizuho set a $72.00 price objective on Westlake in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Westlake from $89.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Westlake from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.00.

Westlake Stock Down 4.1%

NYSE:WLK traded down $2.69 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $63.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 767,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,137,864. The company has a market cap of $8.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.33 and a beta of 0.66. Westlake has a one year low of $56.33 and a one year high of $124.23. The business’s 50-day moving average is $67.35 and its 200-day moving average is $86.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.04). Westlake had a positive return on equity of 1.99% and a negative net margin of 3.91%. The business had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.29) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Westlake will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westlake

In other news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total value of $3,120,724.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 642,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,610,406.40. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Westlake in the 2nd quarter valued at $240,474,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Westlake by 28.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 236,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,685,000 after purchasing an additional 52,551 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 54.4% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 352,448 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $21,961,000 after purchasing an additional 124,129 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 181,070 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $21,153,000 after purchasing an additional 6,752 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 178,160 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $20,814,000 after purchasing an additional 12,845 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Westlake

Westlake Corporation is a global manufacturer of performance and essential materials, as well as products used in housing and infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company serves customers in construction, packaging, healthcare, consumer products, automotive, and other industrial markets.

Westlake’s materials portfolio includes chlor-alkali and derivative chemicals, polyethylene, PVC, vinyl intermediates, epoxy resins, and other specialty products. These materials are used in applications such as water treatment, coatings, adhesives, plastics, medical products, and packaging.

Through its housing and infrastructure businesses, Westlake also produces building products including vinyl siding, trim, roofing products, pipe, fittings, and related components.