Royal Bank of Canada Has Lowered Expectations for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Price

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective lowered by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $147.00 to $133.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price points to a potential upside of 20.50% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on WLK. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Westlake from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Westlake has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.07.

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE WLK opened at $110.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $14.21 billion, a PE ratio of 155.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17. Westlake has a twelve month low of $104.74 and a twelve month high of $162.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.98). The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Westlake by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 19,420 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,919,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in Westlake by 2.2% during the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 9,300 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Westlake in the third quarter valued at approximately $205,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in Westlake by 1.5% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 27,813 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,179,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trajan Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Westlake during the third quarter worth approximately $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.