Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target Increased to $160.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price hoisted by stock analysts at Barclays from $142.00 to $160.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential downside of 0.21% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on WLK. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $139.00 to $134.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.54.

Westlake Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of WLK stock opened at $160.34 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Westlake has a 12-month low of $103.28 and a 12-month high of $160.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $143.91 and its 200 day moving average is $134.16.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 3.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.79 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,804 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.02, for a total value of $677,460.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,389,052.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total transaction of $560,371.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares in the company, valued at $3,055,308. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,804 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.02, for a total value of $677,460.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,306 shares in the company, valued at $6,389,052.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,658 shares of company stock worth $1,923,225 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Westlake during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Westlake by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.