Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Issues Earnings Results

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80), Briefing.com reports. Westlake had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Westlake Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of Westlake stock traded up $4.62 on Wednesday, reaching $137.17. 1,317,608 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 439,817. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.94. Westlake has a 1-year low of $118.64 and a 1-year high of $162.64. The company has a market cap of $17.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $140.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.37.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. This is a positive change from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WLK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays upgraded shares of Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $162.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.92.

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.