Westlake (WLK) Competitors

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

Is ASIX or WLK a better dividend stock?

AdvanSix pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Westlake pays an annual dividend of $2.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. AdvanSix pays out 20.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Westlake pays out 70.5% 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. AdvanSix is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has more risk & volatility, 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 0.91, meaning that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer ASIX or WLK?

AdvanSix currently has a consensus target price of $33.50, suggesting a potential upside of 52.72%. Westlake has a consensus target price of $93.77, suggesting a potential upside of 9.27%. Given AdvanSix's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities 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)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.54

Do institutionals and insiders believe in 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 company insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Westlake shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, ASIX or WLK?

Westlake has higher revenue and earnings than AdvanSix. AdvanSix is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Westlake, 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	0.39	$44.15M	$3.12	7.03
Westlake	$12.14B	0.91	$602M	$2.98	28.80

Does the media favor ASIX or WLK?

In the previous week, Westlake had 5 more articles in the media than AdvanSix. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for Westlake and 2 mentions for AdvanSix. Westlake's average media sentiment score of 0.87 beat AdvanSix's score of 0.77 indicating that Westlake is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
AdvanSix	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Westlake	3 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is ASIX or WLK more profitable?

AdvanSix has a net margin of 5.45% compared to Westlake's net margin of 3.23%. AdvanSix's return on equity of 11.38% beat Westlake's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AdvanSix	5.45%	11.38%	5.65%
Westlake	3.23%	4.19%	2.21%

Summary

AdvanSix beats Westlake on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.