Westlake Chemical Corp. (WLK) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.11 EPS

Westlake Chemical Corp. (NYSE:WLK) released its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.11. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Shares of Westlake Chemical Corp. (NYSE:WLK) traded up 1.92% during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $46.65. 1,100,085 shares of the stock were exchanged. The stock has a market cap of $6.08 billion and a P/E ratio of 9.92. Westlake Chemical Corp. has a one year low of $39.48 and a one year high of $67.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $44.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.21.

Several brokerages recently commented on WLK. Cowen and Company reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (up previously from $53.00) on shares of Westlake Chemical Corp. in a research note on Monday, June 13th. Vetr cut shares of Westlake Chemical Corp. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.76 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Westlake Chemical Corp. from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 16th. SunTrust Banks Inc. upgraded shares of Westlake Chemical Corp. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $44.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 15th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Westlake Chemical Corp. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Westlake Chemical Corp. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.68.

Westlake Chemical Corporation is a vertically integrated global manufacturer and marketer of basic chemicals, vinyls, polymers and building products. The Company’s products include a range of chemicals, which are fundamental to various diverse consumer and industrial markets, including flexible and rigid packaging, automotive products, coatings, residential and commercial construction, as well as other durable and non-durable goods.