BMO Capital Markets Cuts Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $165.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective lowered by BMO Capital Markets from $171.00 to $165.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho began coverage on Westlake in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised shares of Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $162.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Westlake presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.17.

Westlake Stock Down 0.0 %

WLK stock opened at $126.66 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $139.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.36. Westlake has a 52 week low of $118.64 and a 52 week high of $162.64. The company has a market cap of $16.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 178.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.19.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. Westlake’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake in the first quarter worth approximately $43,000. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in Westlake by 43.2% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 8,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth $66,000. 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.