Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.41 EPS

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.41, Briefing.com reports. Westlake had a return on equity of 7.84% and a net margin of 2.27%. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK traded up $2.20 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $145.67. 176,780 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 431,916. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $147.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.83. Westlake has a twelve month low of $112.77 and a twelve month high of $162.64. The company has a market capitalization of $18.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.10, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.20.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on WLK shares. Barclays raised their price target on Westlake from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup raised their price target on Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on Westlake in a research report on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.91.

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.