Brokers Issue Forecasts for Westlake Co.’s Q3 2024 Earnings (NYSE:WLK)

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research lowered their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Westlake in a research report issued on Tuesday, August 27th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the specialty chemicals company will post earnings per share of $1.58 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.41. Westlake had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The firm had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

WLK has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Westlake in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Barclays increased their price objective on Westlake from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Westlake has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.83.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $145.42 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $18.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $144.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.36. Westlake has a twelve month low of $112.77 and a twelve month high of $162.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.61.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Capital World Investors increased its position in Westlake by 106.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,311,836 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $183,605,000 after purchasing an additional 675,725 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Westlake during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,961,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Westlake in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,179,000. Appian Way Asset Management LP bought a new position in Westlake in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,154,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Westlake by 3,330.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 150,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $23,802,000 after acquiring an additional 145,673 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 20th. This is a boost from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Westlake’s payout ratio is 105.53%.

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.