Westlake Corporation to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.53 (NYSE:WLK)

by · The Markets Daily

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK – Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.53 per share by the specialty chemicals company on Wednesday, March 18th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 3rd.

Westlake has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 21 consecutive years. Westlake has a dividend payout ratio of 41.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Westlake to earn $7.44 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.12 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 28.5%.

Westlake Price Performance

WLK stock opened at $105.59 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.02, a PEG ratio of 45.50 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $87.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Westlake has a 12-month low of $56.33 and a 12-month high of $114.75.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $1.22. Westlake had a negative return on equity of 1.22% and a negative net margin of 13.50%.The company had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.61 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.06 earnings per share. Westlake’s quarterly revenue was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho boosted their target price on Westlake from $88.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley set a $80.00 price target on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday, December 15th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $87.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Alembic Global Advisors set a $80.00 price target on shares of Westlake in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Westlake from $100.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.80.

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Westlake Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Westlake Corp. is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, polymers and building products, serving customers across industrial and residential markets. The company’s core operations encompass the production of vinyls—primarily polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and its key feedstock vinyl chloride monomer (VCM)—as well as chlor-alkali products including caustic soda and chlorine. In addition, Westlake produces ethylene, propylene and specialty elastomers, along with construction-related materials such as vinyl siding, trim, windows and roofing systems.

Operating a network of vertically integrated plants and distribution centers, Westlake serves markets in North America, Europe and Asia.

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