Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $167.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price lowered by Royal Bank of Canada from $170.00 to $167.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

WLK has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Westlake in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.17.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of WLK stock opened at $128.31 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $139.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.66. The company has a market capitalization of $16.51 billion, a PE ratio of 180.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. Westlake has a 12 month low of $118.64 and a 12 month high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Westlake by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 17,281 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,597,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 49,085 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,377,000 after purchasing an additional 6,476 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Westlake in the third quarter valued at $62,000. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 86.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 30,742 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,620,000 after purchasing an additional 14,294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Westlake by 11.0% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,024 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $454,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.