Westlake (NYSE:WLK) PT Raised to $180.00 at Piper Sandler

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price target raised by research analysts at Piper Sandler from $160.00 to $180.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target indicates a potential upside of 16.15% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on WLK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Vertical Research lowered Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $154.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Westlake from $134.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Barclays lifted their price target on Westlake from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $147.93.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $154.97 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.92 billion, a PE ratio of 77.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $149.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.95. Westlake has a fifty-two week low of $103.28 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.69% and a net margin of 2.13%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.05 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westlake

In other Westlake news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total value of $560,371.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,055,308. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Westlake news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total value of $560,371.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,055,308. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.19, for a total value of $753,340.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,141,779.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,608 shares of company stock worth $2,676,565. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 512.8% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,841 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 37,573 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,684,000 after purchasing an additional 5,899 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Westlake by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 17,750 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,213,000 after buying an additional 1,413 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Westlake by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 682,832 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $85,129,000 after buying an additional 63,823 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its stake in Westlake by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 7,723 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $963,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.