Q4 2022 EPS Estimates for Westlake Co. Decreased by KeyCorp (NYSE:WLK)

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK – Get Rating) – KeyCorp cut their Q4 2022 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Westlake in a report issued on Tuesday, May 3rd. KeyCorp analyst A. Yefremov now forecasts that the specialty chemicals company will post earnings of $5.10 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $5.66. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Westlake’s FY2023 earnings at $17.01 EPS.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $5.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $1.13. Westlake had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 31.96%. The business had revenue of $4.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 72.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on WLK. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Westlake from $140.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Westlake from $128.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 5th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Westlake from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Westlake from $150.00 to $162.00 in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $126.62.

Shares of WLK stock opened at $138.79 on Friday. Westlake has a 52-week low of $78.06 and a 52-week high of $141.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.61. The company has a market capitalization of $17.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.10, a PEG ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 1.19.

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,655 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 33.1% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 478 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 113.4% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 303 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,390 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Colony Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Colony Group LLC now owns 3,043 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter.

In other Westlake news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 6,021 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.35, for a total value of $748,711.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Johnathan Stevan Zoeller sold 1,006 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.39, for a total transaction of $111,052.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,090 shares of company stock worth $4,720,673 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 73.70% of the company’s stock.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 1st were paid a $0.2975 dividend. This represents a $1.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 28th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.09%.

About Westlake (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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