Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.98 EPS

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

Westlake Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of Westlake stock traded up $2.29 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $111.82. 124,729 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 588,270. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 157.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake has a 52-week low of $104.74 and a 52-week high of $162.64. The company has a fifty day moving average of $114.08 and a 200-day moving average of $129.12.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WLK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial began coverage on Westlake in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $168.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price 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. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group raised Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.36.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In related 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 value of $225,890.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. This trade represents a 18.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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.