Zacks Research Has Pessimistic View of Westlake Q1 Earnings

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for Westlake in a report released on Monday, November 25th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the specialty chemicals company will post earnings of $1.56 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.76. The consensus estimate for Westlake’s current full-year earnings is $6.47 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Westlake’s Q2 2025 earnings at $2.13 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.05 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.08 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.20 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $2.32 EPS.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays upgraded shares of Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $162.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.17.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WLK opened at $128.55 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $16.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 181.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.05. Westlake has a 52 week low of $118.64 and a 52 week high of $162.64. 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 (NYSE:WLK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLK. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Westlake by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 7,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in Westlake by 43.2% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Westlake by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Westlake by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,724 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,518 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $532,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,239,420. This represents a 15.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Westlake’s payout ratio is currently 295.77%.

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.