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

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Westlake Price Performance

NYSE WLK traded up $2.26 on Tuesday, reaching $111.79. The company had a trading volume of 106,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 587,672. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $114.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $129.12. Westlake has a 12 month low of $104.74 and a 12 month high of $162.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.39 billion, a PE ratio of 157.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.17. 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. Westlake’s payout ratio is 295.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total transaction of $225,890.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,004,758.72. This represents a 18.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WLK. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial began coverage on Westlake in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $168.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Westlake from $155.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.36.

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.