Royal Bank of Canada Increases Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Price Target to $153.00

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price raised by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada from $134.00 to $153.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sector perform” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 2.29% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also commented on WLK. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a report on Thursday. Vertical Research downgraded shares of Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $154.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Westlake presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.79.

Westlake Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Westlake stock traded up $0.63 during trading on Friday, hitting $149.57. 111,240 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 384,533. The stock has a market cap of $19.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $146.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.09. Westlake has a 12-month low of $103.28 and a 12-month high of $162.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.09). Westlake had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The company had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.79 earnings per share. Westlake’s revenue was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total value of $667,764.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 50,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,893,632.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total transaction of $560,371.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,055,308. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total transaction of $667,764.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,893,632.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 13,658 shares of company stock valued at $1,923,225. Insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in Westlake during the 4th quarter valued at $8,492,000. Aviva PLC boosted its stake in Westlake by 66.8% during the 3rd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 119,377 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $14,883,000 after acquiring an additional 47,799 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Westlake by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,260 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in Westlake during the 3rd quarter valued at $790,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,630,975 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $577,344,000 after buying an additional 96,152 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.