Westlake (WLK) Scheduled to Post Earnings on Wednesday

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) is scheduled to post its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Wednesday, May 1st. Analysts expect Westlake to post earnings of $1.13 per share for the quarter. Persons that wish to register for the company's earnings conference call can do so using this link.

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

Westlake Price Performance

WLK stock traded up $0.50 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $149.86. 381,360 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 389,488. Westlake has a 52-week low of $103.28 and a 52-week high of $162.64. The company has a market cap of $19.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.36, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.37. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $146.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.83.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.05%.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total value of $667,764.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 50,110 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,893,632.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,854 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.57, for a total value of $667,764.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,110 shares in the company, valued at $6,893,632.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,658 shares of company stock valued at $1,923,225 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WLK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Vertical Research downgraded shares of Westlake from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $154.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America raised shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. raised shares of Westlake from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $145.79.

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.