UBS Group Cuts Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $127.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective dropped by stock analysts at UBS Group from $144.00 to $127.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. UBS Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 48.72% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $166.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 target price (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Westlake from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Westlake presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.21.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK stock traded down $3.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $85.39. 1,030,213 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 551,662. Westlake has a 12 month low of $82.34 and a 12 month high of $162.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $108.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.97 billion, a PE ratio of 121.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 732.7% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 993,150 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $113,865,000 after acquiring an additional 873,888 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,313,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $379,933,000 after purchasing an additional 574,068 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,630,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Westlake by 56.8% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 827,516 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $94,875,000 after buying an additional 299,597 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in Westlake by 348.8% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 364,274 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $41,327,000 after buying an additional 283,100 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.