What is Zacks Research's Estimate for Westlake Q1 Earnings?

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) - Research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for shares of Westlake in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, March 13th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the specialty chemicals company will earn $2.05 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $2.20. The consensus estimate for Westlake's current full-year earnings is $6.48 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Westlake's Q3 2026 earnings at $2.33 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $8.02 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on WLK. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $157.00 to $132.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group raised shares of Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $144.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Westlake from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Westlake from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $152.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $140.07.

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Westlake Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Westlake stock traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $101.48. 646,825 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 505,390. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake has a twelve month low of $99.46 and a twelve month high of $162.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 142.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.98). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. Westlake's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Westlake by 732.7% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 993,150 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $113,865,000 after purchasing an additional 873,888 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,313,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $379,933,000 after acquiring an additional 574,068 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 699.1% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 595,149 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $89,445,000 after acquiring an additional 520,669 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the fourth quarter valued at $46,630,000. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new position in shares of Westlake during the third quarter valued at $55,542,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Westlake's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.36%.

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.