Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) released its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Westlake Price Performance

Westlake stock opened at $112.19 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $113.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.88. The stock has a market cap of $14.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 158.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17. Westlake has a 12-month low of $104.74 and a 12-month 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is 295.77%.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In other Westlake news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total transaction of $225,890.00. Following the transaction, the director now 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 74.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WLK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Westlake from $168.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Westlake from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.21.

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.