Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.25, Briefing.com reports. Westlake had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 3.82%. The business had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.05 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Westlake Stock Performance

Westlake stock traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $148.73. 162,269 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 395,752. The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $147.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.81. The firm has a market cap of $19.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.32, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.30. Westlake has a fifty-two week low of $103.28 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westlake

In other Westlake news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total transaction of $560,371.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,055,308. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,804 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.02, for a total transaction of $677,460.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,389,052.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total transaction of $560,371.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares in the company, valued at $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,658 shares of company stock valued at $1,923,225 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on WLK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group raised their target price on Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Bank of America upgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Westlake from $134.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.79.

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.