Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Price

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price dropped by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $95.00 to $85.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target points to a potential upside of 13.28% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Westlake from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $115.00 target price on Westlake and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Westlake from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.64.

Westlake Stock Performance

NYSE WLK traded down $1.45 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $75.03. 1,130,570 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,242,842. The company has a market cap of $9.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.91 and a beta of 0.58. Westlake has a 12-month low of $56.33 and a 12-month high of $124.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $95.64 and a 200 day moving average of $94.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.67). Westlake had a negative net margin of 14.91% and a negative return on equity of 1.89%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.31) EPS. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Westlake will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 90.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,687 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,869,000 after purchasing an additional 18,321 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Westlake by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 19,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,881,000 after buying an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Westlake during the 1st quarter valued at $211,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Westlake by 43.6% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,350 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 18.2% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,788 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.