Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) Announces $0.53 Quarterly Dividend

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, November 15th,NASDAQ Dividends reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of 0.525 per share by the specialty chemicals company on Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th.

Westlake has increased its dividend payment by an average of 17.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 21 consecutive years. Westlake has a payout ratio of 25.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Westlake to earn $7.58 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.10 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 27.7%.

Westlake Price Performance

NYSE WLK opened at $130.45 on Monday. 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 1 year low of $118.64 and a 1 year high of $162.64. The company has a market cap of $16.79 billion, a PE ratio of 183.73, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $138.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.44.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by ($0.80). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com lowered Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Westlake from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Westlake in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.17.

About Westlake

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.