Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) to Post Q3 2024 Earnings of $1.85 Per Share, KeyCorp Forecasts

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) - Investment analysts at KeyCorp issued their Q3 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Westlake in a note issued to investors on Sunday, October 6th. KeyCorp analyst A. Yefremov expects that the specialty chemicals company will post earnings per share of $1.85 for the quarter. The consensus estimate for Westlake's current full-year earnings is $7.13 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Westlake's Q4 2024 earnings at $0.86 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.06 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $6.69 EPS.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The business had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 7.84%. Westlake's revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS.

WLK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Westlake from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $167.50.

Westlake Price Performance

NYSE:WLK traded up $1.91 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $144.06. The stock had a trading volume of 350,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 437,143. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $143.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $148.73. Westlake has a one year low of $112.77 and a one year high of $162.64.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WLK. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd grew its holdings in Westlake by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 3,302 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Westlake by 1.7% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,554 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $849,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Westlake by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,724 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in Westlake by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 40,228 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $6,147,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in Westlake by 3.4% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,518 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $532,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This is a positive change from Westlake's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. Westlake's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.