Truist Financial Has Lowered Expectations for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Price

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price objective cut by research analysts at Truist Financial from $104.00 to $90.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Truist Financial’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 44.04% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group set a $98.00 price target on Westlake and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Zacks Research upgraded Westlake from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $89.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Westlake in a research note on Friday, September 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $92.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of Westlake in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Westlake has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.64.

Westlake Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $62.48 on Thursday. Westlake has a 52-week low of $56.33 and a 52-week high of $124.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $73.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.80. The stock has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a PE ratio of -6.52 and a beta of 0.63.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.18. Westlake had a negative net margin of 10.94% and a positive return on equity of 0.93%. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($1.11) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Westlake will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total transaction of $3,120,724.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 642,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,610,406.40. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the second quarter worth $1,117,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Westlake in the 2nd quarter worth $1,700,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Westlake in the 2nd quarter worth $19,544,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Westlake by 53.6% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 50,715 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,750,000 after purchasing an additional 17,689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Westlake by 28.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 236,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,685,000 after purchasing an additional 52,551 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

About Westlake

Westlake Corporation (NYSE: WLK) is a global manufacturer of performance and essential materials used in construction, infrastructure, packaging, healthcare, automotive, and consumer products. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company operates through businesses focused on producing chemical building blocks, polymers, and specialty materials.

Its product portfolio includes polyvinyl chloride (PVC), chlor-alkali products such as caustic soda and chlorine, polyethylene, epoxy and specialty resins, and other performance chemicals.