Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Announces Earnings Results

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($1.01), Zacks reports. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The business had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Westlake Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE WLK traded down $1.48 on Monday, hitting $78.37. The company had a trading volume of 1,848,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 583,749. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 110.37, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average of $97.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.64. Westlake has a 12-month low of $78.18 and a 12-month high of $161.31. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WLK shares. StockNews.com raised Westlake from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $116.00 to $75.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Westlake from $132.00 to $117.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Westlake from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $118.08.

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.