Westlake (WLK) Expected to Announce Earnings on Tuesday

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) will likely be releasing its earnings data before the market opens on Tuesday, February 18th. Analysts expect Westlake to post earnings of $1.27 per share and revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter.

Westlake Stock Down 0.4 %

Westlake stock opened at $111.06 on Tuesday. Westlake has a twelve month low of $108.56 and a twelve month high of $162.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.79. The firm has a market cap of $14.30 billion, a PE ratio of 156.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $116.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.24.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is 295.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $155.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America raised Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.79.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In related news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. This represents a 18.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 74.10% of the company’s stock.

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.