Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $110.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 1.83% from the company’s current price.

WLK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Westlake from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Westlake from $82.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $80.00 price objective on Westlake in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Zacks Research upgraded Westlake from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.80.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK stock opened at $112.05 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.34. The company has a market capitalization of $14.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.58 and a beta of 0.83. Westlake has a twelve month low of $56.33 and a twelve month high of $116.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $1.22. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 13.50% and a negative return on equity of 1.22%. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.06 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total value of $1,756,916.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,484,178.36. This represents a 28.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.57, for a total value of $3,004,304.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 627,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,181,507.54. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Westlake by 7,239.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,220,717 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $312,080,000 after purchasing an additional 4,163,207 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in Westlake during the 4th quarter valued at about $160,548,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Westlake during the 2nd quarter valued at about $104,314,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its position in Westlake by 246.0% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,456,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $110,621,000 after acquiring an additional 1,035,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP raised its position in Westlake by 440.1% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 854,184 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $65,823,000 after acquiring an additional 696,029 shares during the last quarter. 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.