Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Rating) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The specialty chemicals company reported $5.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $1.13, MarketWatch Earnings reports. The firm had revenue of $4.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 26.37%. The company’s revenue was up 72.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.87 EPS.

NYSE WLK traded up $4.85 on Tuesday, hitting $132.07. 10,219 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 715,911. The company has a market cap of $16.92 billion, a PE ratio of 8.17, a PEG ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.19. Westlake has a 12 month low of $78.06 and a 12 month high of $135.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $120.39 and a 200-day moving average of $106.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 1st were paid a $0.2975 dividend. This represents a $1.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 28th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.64%.

In related news, CAO Johnathan Stevan Zoeller sold 1,006 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.39, for a total transaction of $111,052.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 2,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.55, for a total transaction of $315,451.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,090 shares of company stock worth $4,720,673. 73.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,655 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Westlake by 5.3% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 7,255 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $661,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 118.2% in the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 969 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,510 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,866,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC now owns 151,762 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $14,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,460 shares in the last quarter.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WLK shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 2nd. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Westlake from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a report on Friday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.42.

Westlake Company Profile (Get Rating)

Westlake Corporation manufactures and supplies petrochemicals, polymers, and building products worldwide. It operates through two segments, Performance and Essential Materials; and Housing and Infrastructure Products. The Performance and Essential Materials segment manufactures and markets polyethylene, styrene monomer, ethylene co-products, PVC, VCM, ethylene dichloride chlor-alkali, and chlorinated derivative products.

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