Mizuho Raises Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $98.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price target hoisted by equities research analysts at Mizuho from $82.00 to $98.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Mizuho’s price objective points to a potential upside of 20.41% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Westlake from $130.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on Westlake from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Westlake from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays cut their target price on Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.77.

Westlake Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $81.39 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.72 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50 day moving average of $77.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.23. Westlake has a 52-week low of $68.55 and a 52-week high of $153.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($1.01). Westlake had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 4.19%. The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 557,943 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $63,832,000 after buying an additional 5,297 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Westlake by 251.1% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 316 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Westlake by 4.6% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 12,253 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,226,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Westlake by 71.9% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 514 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 2.7% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 61,134 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $6,115,000 after acquiring an additional 1,635 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

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.