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

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.05 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WLK traded up $0.33 during trading on Thursday, hitting $149.51. The company had a trading volume of 371,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 398,334. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.30. Westlake has a fifty-two week low of $103.28 and a fifty-two week high of $162.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.89. 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total transaction of $560,371.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares in the company, valued at $3,055,308. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Westlake news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total value of $560,371.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,055,308. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,804 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.02, for a total transaction of $677,460.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,306 shares in the company, valued at $6,389,052.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,658 shares of company stock worth $1,923,225. 74.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WLK shares. Vertical Research cut shares of Westlake from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $154.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Westlake from $134.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Westlake from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.