Westlake (WLK) Scheduled to Post Earnings on Tuesday

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) is set to post its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Tuesday, August 6th. Analysts expect Westlake to post earnings of $1.90 per share for the quarter. Investors that wish to register for the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 7.69%. Westlake’s revenue was down 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.05 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Westlake to post $7 EPS for the current fiscal year and $8 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Westlake Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of WLK stock traded up $0.82 on Tuesday, reaching $144.60. 26,005 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 425,150. Westlake has a 1-year low of $112.77 and a 1-year high of $162.64. The stock has a market cap of $18.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $149.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.48.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 14th. Finally, Vertical Research lowered shares of Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $154.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.19, for a total transaction of $753,340.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,356 shares in the company, valued at $6,141,779.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 74.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.