Piper Sandler Lowers Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $135.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $155.00 to $135.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target points to a potential upside of 22.15% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on WLK. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup raised Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $156.92.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $110.52 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $14.22 billion, a PE ratio of 155.66, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $123.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.39. Westlake has a twelve month low of $108.95 and a twelve month high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total transaction of $225,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at $1,004,758.72. The trade was a 18.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Westlake by 43.2% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in Westlake by 8,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 72.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Westlake by 84.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth $62,000. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Company Profile

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.