Truist Financial Raises Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $127.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price increased by equities researchers at Truist Financial from $117.00 to $127.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Truist Financial’s price objective points to a potential upside of 12.20% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on WLK. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating on shares of Westlake in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research raised Westlake from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Citigroup raised their price target on Westlake from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Westlake in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.20.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK stock opened at $113.19 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $99.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.07. Westlake has a one year low of $56.33 and a one year high of $116.46. The company has a market capitalization of $14.48 billion, a PE ratio of -9.67 and a beta of 0.83.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $1.22. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.61 billion. Westlake had a negative net margin of 13.50% and a negative return on equity of 1.22%. Westlake’s quarterly revenue was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.06 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total transaction of $1,756,916.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,484,178.36. The trade was a 28.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 4,386,635 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $324,348,000 after purchasing an additional 472,224 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Westlake by 7,239.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,220,717 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $312,080,000 after buying an additional 4,163,207 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Westlake by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,917,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $289,647,000 after buying an additional 477,698 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in Westlake in the fourth quarter worth $160,548,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Westlake by 45.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,885,678 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $139,431,000 after buying an additional 585,438 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Westlake

Westlake Corp. is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, polymers and building products, serving customers across industrial and residential markets. The company’s core operations encompass the production of vinyls—primarily polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and its key feedstock vinyl chloride monomer (VCM)—as well as chlor-alkali products including caustic soda and chlorine. In addition, Westlake produces ethylene, propylene and specialty elastomers, along with construction-related materials such as vinyl siding, trim, windows and roofing systems.

Operating a network of vertically integrated plants and distribution centers, Westlake serves markets in North America, Europe and Asia.