Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Announces Earnings Results

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.41, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.69% and a net margin of 2.13%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS.

Westlake Stock Performance

Westlake stock traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $143.48. 598,409 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 433,605. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $147.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.73. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $18.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.20. Westlake has a 1 year low of $112.77 and a 1 year high of $162.64.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WLK shares. StockNews.com downgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 14th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Westlake from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.55.

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.