Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Announces Earnings Results

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.98), Zacks reports. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Westlake Stock Up 2.1 %

WLK traded up $2.29 on Tuesday, reaching $111.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 124,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 588,270. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake has a fifty-two week low of $104.74 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $114.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.12. The company has a market capitalization of $14.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 157.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 295.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WLK shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial began coverage on Westlake in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $168.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America decreased their price target on Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total transaction of $225,890.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. This trade represents a 18.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

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.