Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.25 EPS

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

Westlake Stock Performance

WLK traded down $0.11 on Thursday, hitting $149.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 201,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 396,129. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $147.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.81. The firm has a market cap of $19.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.30. Westlake has a 12 month low of $103.28 and a 12 month high of $162.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $134.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America upgraded shares of 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 research note on Thursday, April 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of 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 research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Vertical Research lowered shares of Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $154.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total value 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total value of $667,764.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,893,632.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,658 shares of company stock valued at $1,923,225. Company 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.