Westlake (WLK) Competitors

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) and LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) are both large-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their community ranking, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, media sentiment, valuation and earnings.

Does the media refer more to WLK or LYB?

In the previous week, LyondellBasell Industries had 6 more articles in the media than Westlake. MarketBeat recorded 20 mentions for LyondellBasell Industries and 14 mentions for Westlake. LyondellBasell Industries' average media sentiment score of 1.02 beat Westlake's score of 0.34 indicating that LyondellBasell Industries is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Westlake	5 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
LyondellBasell Industries	14 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, WLK or LYB?

Westlake has a beta of 1.19, indicating that its share price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LyondellBasell Industries has a beta of 1.08, indicating that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate WLK or LYB?

Westlake currently has a consensus target price of $162.17, indicating a potential upside of 28.03%. LyondellBasell Industries has a consensus target price of $101.70, indicating a potential upside of 23.05%. Given Westlake's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Westlake is more favorable than LyondellBasell Industries.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Westlake	1 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.38
LyondellBasell Industries	1 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.31

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in WLK or LYB?

LyondellBasell Industries received 288 more outperform votes than Westlake when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 63.71% of users gave LyondellBasell Industries an outperform vote while only 57.21% of users gave Westlake an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Westlake	Outperform Votes 460 57.21%	Underperform Votes 344 42.79%
LyondellBasell Industries	Outperform Votes 748 63.71%	Underperform Votes 426 36.29%

Which has higher valuation and earnings, WLK or LYB?

LyondellBasell Industries has higher revenue and earnings than Westlake. LyondellBasell Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Westlake, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Westlake	$12.55B	1.30	$479M	$0.71	178.39
LyondellBasell Industries	$41.11B	0.65	$2.12B	$6.57	12.58

Is WLK or LYB more profitable?

LyondellBasell Industries has a net margin of 5.29% compared to Westlake's net margin of 0.81%. LyondellBasell Industries' return on equity of 17.05% beat Westlake's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Westlake	0.81%	6.93%	3.61%
LyondellBasell Industries	5.29%	17.05%	6.12%

Is WLK or LYB a better dividend stock?

Westlake pays an annual dividend of $2.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. LyondellBasell Industries pays an annual dividend of $5.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.5%. Westlake pays out 295.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. LyondellBasell Industries pays out 81.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Westlake has increased its dividend for 21 consecutive years and LyondellBasell Industries has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. LyondellBasell Industries is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in WLK or LYB?

28.4% of Westlake shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.2% of LyondellBasell Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. 74.1% of Westlake shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of LyondellBasell Industries shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

LyondellBasell Industries beats Westlake on 13 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.