Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Given New $99.00 Price Target at Truist Financial

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price target raised by stock analysts at Truist Financial from $82.00 to $99.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Truist Financial’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 18.02% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on WLK. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (down previously from $93.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Westlake in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $87.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, November 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.47.

Westlake Price Performance

NYSE:WLK opened at $83.89 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $72.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.60. The firm has a market cap of $10.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.31, a PEG ratio of 40.39 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.99. Westlake has a one year low of $56.33 and a one year high of $119.86.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.47). The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 8.34% and a negative return on equity of 0.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. Research analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Westlake news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chairman owned 627,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,181,507.54. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 11.8% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,433 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Westlake by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 28,134 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,136,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 5,020 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in Westlake by 54.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 567 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 49.9% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 640 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

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.