Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Forecasted to Earn Q3 2024 Earnings of $1.58 Per Share

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q3 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Westlake in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, August 27th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the specialty chemicals company will earn $1.58 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.80. The consensus estimate for Westlake’s current full-year earnings is $6.92 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Westlake’s Q3 2025 earnings at $1.95 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $0.93 EPS.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.31 EPS.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised Westlake from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westlake from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.83.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $144.19 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $148.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.46, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.20. Westlake has a 12 month low of $112.77 and a 12 month high of $162.64.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. This is an increase from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 20th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.53%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the first quarter worth approximately $43,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Westlake by 8,400.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Westlake in the 2nd quarter valued at $66,000. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in Westlake by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

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.