Stock analysts at Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $168.00 price target on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Truist Financial’s target price indicates a potential upside of 43.31% from the stock’s current price.
Several other research firms have also weighed in on WLK. Bank of America raised Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays raised shares of Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Westlake from $155.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.79.
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Westlake Stock Performance
Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.
Insider Activity
In other Westlake news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,004,758.72. This represents a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 74.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WLK. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new position in Westlake in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $534,000. Peterson Wealth Services increased its position in shares of Westlake by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 6,400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 106.5% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 21,501 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,465,000 after purchasing an additional 11,091 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC bought a new position in Westlake in the fourth quarter worth $206,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 88.3% during the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 18,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,154,000 after buying an additional 8,813 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.
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