Westlake (WLK) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) is scheduled to issue its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Wednesday, May 1st. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.13 per share for the quarter. Persons that are interested in participating in the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.79 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Westlake to post $7 EPS for the current fiscal year and $9 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK opened at $150.95 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $19.35 billion, a PE ratio of 40.80, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $147.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.54. Westlake has a 52-week low of $103.28 and a 52-week 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Westlake’s payout ratio is 54.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,055,308. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Westlake news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,055,308. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.02, for a total value of $677,460.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,389,052.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,658 shares of company stock worth $1,923,225. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WLK shares. Vertical Research cut shares of Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $154.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on Westlake from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.79.

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.