Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) to Post Q3 2023 Earnings of $1.97 Per Share, Zacks Research Forecasts

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) – Research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q3 2023 earnings estimates for Westlake in a report issued on Monday, August 28th. Zacks Research analyst M. Agrawal now expects that the specialty chemicals company will post earnings of $1.97 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $2.12. The consensus estimate for Westlake’s current full-year earnings is $8.82 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Westlake’s FY2023 earnings at $8.78 EPS, Q1 2024 earnings at $2.17 EPS, Q2 2024 earnings at $2.76 EPS and Q3 2024 earnings at $2.14 EPS.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.52). The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.50 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 12.44%. The business’s revenue was down 27.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.60 earnings per share.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on WLK. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Westlake from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Westlake in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Westlake from $144.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on Westlake from $129.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Westlake from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $127.67.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of WLK stock opened at $134.07 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.08 and a beta of 1.28. Westlake has a fifty-two week low of $81.29 and a fifty-two week high of $138.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 2.17 and a current ratio of 2.95.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,608 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,049,000 after buying an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Westlake by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 243,246 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,017,000 after buying an additional 10,077 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,102 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of Westlake by 236.9% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 9,313 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 6,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Westlake in the 1st quarter worth $118,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Westlake news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.00, for a total transaction of $131,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,329,388. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 74.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 25th will be issued a $0.357 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 24th. This represents a $1.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.51%.

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corporation manufactures and markets performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The Performance and Essential Materials segment offers polyethylene, styrene monomer, ethylene co-products, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), vinyl chloride monomer, ethylene dichloride chlor-alkali, chlorinated derivative products, and epoxy resins.