Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) to Post FY2024 Earnings of $6.53 Per Share, Zacks Research Forecasts

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research raised their FY2024 EPS estimates for shares of Westlake in a note issued to investors on Monday, May 20th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the specialty chemicals company will post earnings of $6.53 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $6.40. The consensus estimate for Westlake’s current full-year earnings is $6.57 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Westlake’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.50 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.88 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $2.11 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.37 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $1.05 EPS.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on WLK. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Westlake from $134.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Westlake from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Vertical Research cut shares of Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $154.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Westlake from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $151.00.

Westlake Trading Up 0.2 %

Westlake stock opened at $160.63 on Wednesday. Westlake has a 52 week low of $103.28 and a 52 week high of $162.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 2.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $152.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.72.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 7.69%. Westlake’s quarterly revenue was down 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.05 earnings per share.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 20th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Westlake news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of Westlake stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total transaction of $560,371.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,055,308. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,804 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.02, for a total transaction of $677,460.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,389,052.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total transaction of $560,371.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,055,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,608 shares of company stock valued at $2,676,565. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Westlake by 55.9% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 354 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 99.8% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 65,036 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $8,108,000 after acquiring an additional 32,492 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 18.2% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,107 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,557 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 276.4% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,035 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 31.3% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 22,297 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,780,000 after acquiring an additional 5,320 shares in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.