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

by · The Markets Daily

Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $89.00 to $68.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 8.83% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Westlake and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Westlake in a research note on Friday, September 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $92.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective (up from $89.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $85.00 price target on Westlake in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Westlake has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.64.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on WLK

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK opened at $62.48 on Thursday. Westlake has a one year low of $56.33 and a one year high of $124.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $73.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.52 and a beta of 0.63.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 10.94% and a positive return on equity of 0.93%. The company’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($1.11) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Westlake will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In other Westlake news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total transaction of $3,120,724.44. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 642,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,610,406.40. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $240,474,000. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in shares of Westlake in the fourth quarter worth $160,548,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,670,327 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $123,505,000 after purchasing an additional 121,633 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in Westlake by 61.5% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 420,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,055,000 after purchasing an additional 160,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in Westlake in the fourth quarter valued at $21,388,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Westlake Corporation (NYSE: WLK) is a global manufacturer of performance and essential materials used in construction, infrastructure, packaging, healthcare, automotive, and consumer products. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company operates through businesses focused on producing chemical building blocks, polymers, and specialty materials.

Its product portfolio includes polyvinyl chloride (PVC), chlor-alkali products such as caustic soda and chlorine, polyethylene, epoxy and specialty resins, and other performance chemicals.

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