Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target Cut to $65.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price target lowered by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $80.00 to $65.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price points to a potential upside of 4.08% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $67.00 price objective (down from $85.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Westlake from $104.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $66.00 price target for the company. Mizuho set a $72.00 price target on shares of Westlake in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group set a $86.00 price target on shares of Westlake and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $82.20.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WLK traded down $1.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $62.45. 193,501 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,140,855. Westlake has a 52-week low of $56.33 and a 52-week high of $124.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $71.09 and a 200 day moving average of $84.01. 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 company has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a PE ratio of -6.53 and a beta of 0.69.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. Westlake had a positive return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 10.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($1.11) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Westlake will post 2.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of the 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 directly owned 642,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,610,406.40. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Westlake by 166.2% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,608 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004 shares during the period. Core Capital Management & Research inc. bought a new stake in Westlake in the 2nd quarter worth $264,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 59.0% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 76,055 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,552,000 after acquiring an additional 28,235 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its holdings in Westlake by 67.8% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 71,301 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,205,000 after purchasing an additional 28,802 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Westlake by 58,450.0% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,171 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 1,169 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Westlake

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.