Brokerages expect Westlake Chemical Co. (NYSE:WLK) to report sales of $2.32 billion for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks reports. Four analysts have made estimates for Westlake Chemical’s earnings, with estimates ranging from $2.24 billion to $2.38 billion. Westlake Chemical posted sales of $1.71 billion during the same quarter last year, which indicates a positive year-over-year growth rate of 35.7%. The business is expected to issue its next earnings results on Thursday, August 5th.
According to Zacks, analysts expect that Westlake Chemical will report full year sales of $9.36 billion for the current year, with estimates ranging from $8.66 billion to $10.28 billion. For the next financial year, analysts expect that the company will post sales of $9.23 billion, with estimates ranging from $8.24 billion to $10.87 billion. Zacks Investment Research’s sales averages are an average based on a survey of sell-side research analysts that cover Westlake Chemical.
Westlake Chemical (NYSE:WLK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.31. Westlake Chemical had a net margin of 5.14% and a return on equity of 4.74%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Westlake Chemical’s revenue was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis.
A number of research firms recently commented on WLK. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Westlake Chemical from $114.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 5th. TheStreet raised shares of Westlake Chemical from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 23rd. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Westlake Chemical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $99.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Westlake Chemical from $92.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Monday, March 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Westlake Chemical from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.00.
In other news, CEO Lawrence E. Teel sold 33,449 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.96, for a total transaction of $2,908,725.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,865 shares in the company, valued at $1,205,700.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Johnathan Stevan Zoeller sold 1,006 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.94, for a total transaction of $87,461.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,461.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 97,519 shares of company stock valued at $8,940,449 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 73.10% of the company’s stock.
A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 258,852 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $21,122,000 after purchasing an additional 30,880 shares during the period. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Westlake Chemical by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its holdings in Westlake Chemical by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 147,367 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $12,025,000 after buying an additional 2,520 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Westlake Chemical by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 293,274 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $23,932,000 after buying an additional 6,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank bought a new stake in Westlake Chemical during the fourth quarter worth approximately $431,000. 28.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Shares of NYSE:WLK traded up $1.70 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $100.48. The stock had a trading volume of 337,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 601,890. Westlake Chemical has a 1 year low of $42.70 and a 1 year high of $105.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $96.14 and its 200-day moving average is $86.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.27, a P/E/G ratio of 38.49 and a beta of 1.62.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 25th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 24th. Westlake Chemical’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.13%.
Westlake Chemical Company Profile
Westlake Chemical Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets basic chemicals, vinyls, polymers, and building products worldwide. It operates through two segments, Vinyls and Olefins. The Vinyls segment provides specialty and commodity polyvinyl chloride (PVC), vinyl chloride monomers, ethylene dichloride, chlorine, caustic soda, chlorinated derivative, and ethylene products.
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