Westlake (WLK) Competitors

AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX) and Westlake (NYSE:WLK) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, media sentiment, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Is ASIX or WLK more profitable?

AdvanSix has a net margin of 5.10% compared to Westlake's net margin of -0.57%. AdvanSix's return on equity of 10.02% beat Westlake's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AdvanSix	5.10%	10.02%	4.97%
Westlake	-0.57%	1.26%	0.66%

Does the media prefer ASIX or WLK?

In the previous week, Westlake had 9 more articles in the media than AdvanSix. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for Westlake and 0 mentions for AdvanSix. AdvanSix's average media sentiment score of 1.68 beat Westlake's score of 1.23 indicating that AdvanSix is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
AdvanSix	Very Positive
Westlake	Positive

Do analysts rate ASIX or WLK?

AdvanSix currently has a consensus target price of $33.50, suggesting a potential upside of 60.53%. Westlake has a consensus target price of $92.29, suggesting a potential upside of 2.02%. Given AdvanSix's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe AdvanSix is more favorable than Westlake.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AdvanSix	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Westlake	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, ASIX or WLK?

Westlake has higher revenue and earnings than AdvanSix. Westlake is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AdvanSix, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AdvanSix	$1.52B	0.37	$44.15M	$2.84	7.35
Westlake	$12.14B	0.96	$602M	-$0.53	-170.67

Which has more volatility & risk, ASIX or WLK?

AdvanSix has a beta of 1.6, meaning that its share price is 60% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Westlake has a beta of 0.92, meaning that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of ASIX or WLK?

86.4% of AdvanSix shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 28.4% of Westlake shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.6% of AdvanSix shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Westlake shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is ASIX or WLK a better dividend stock?

AdvanSix pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Westlake pays an annual dividend of $2.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. AdvanSix pays out 22.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Westlake pays out -400.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. AdvanSix has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Westlake has raised its dividend for 21 consecutive years.

Summary

AdvanSix beats Westlake on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.