JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Price

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price target cut by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $110.00 to $82.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 5.12% from the company’s current price.

WLK has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $144.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.92.

Westlake Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $78.01 on Tuesday. 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 has a 12-month low of $76.97 and a 12-month high of $161.31. The company has a market cap of $10.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 109.87, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $112.16.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($1.01). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. Westlake’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WLK. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in Westlake by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 40,613 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,104,000 after acquiring an additional 940 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 72.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC lifted its position in Westlake by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 13,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,522,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in Westlake in the fourth quarter worth approximately $307,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in Westlake by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 79,178 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,078,000 after purchasing an additional 5,512 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Westlake

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.