Zacks Research Comments on Westlake’s Q2 Earnings (NYSE:WLK)

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) – Research analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q2 2027 earnings estimates for Westlake in a report issued on Thursday, November 20th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the specialty chemicals company will post earnings per share of $1.43 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.55. The consensus estimate for Westlake’s current full-year earnings is $6.48 per share.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $83.00 price objective (down from $91.00) on shares of Westlake in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Truist Financial set a $90.00 price target on shares of Westlake and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. UBS Group set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Westlake and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Westlake from $98.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.67.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of WLK stock opened at $59.17 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.17. Westlake has a one year low of $56.33 and a one year high of $133.51. The firm has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -111.64 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.47). Westlake had a negative net margin of 0.57% and a positive return on equity of 1.26%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Westlake in the 2nd quarter valued at about $104,314,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its stake in Westlake by 246.0% in the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,456,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $110,621,000 after acquiring an additional 1,035,851 shares during the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new position in Westlake in the second quarter valued at approximately $62,508,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Westlake during the 1st quarter worth $72,974,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Westlake by 366.7% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 901,229 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $90,150,000 after acquiring an additional 708,142 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 25th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -28.57%.

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.