Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.80 EPS

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

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of WLK traded up $4.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $136.57. 880,525 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 439,684. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.61. Westlake has a 1 year low of $118.64 and a 1 year high of $162.64. The stock has a market cap of $17.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $140.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.37.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This is an increase from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WLK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.