Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $160.00

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

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America upgraded Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.92.

Westlake Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of WLK opened at $132.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $16.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 186.13, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.19. Westlake has a 12 month low of $118.64 and a 12 month high of $162.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $140.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.09. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released 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). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. Westlake’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Westlake will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Westlake in the first quarter valued at about $43,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 8,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $66,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Westlake by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.