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

Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, May 12th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of 0.525 per share by the specialty chemicals company on Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th.

Westlake has increased its dividend by an average of 21.8% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 21 consecutive years. Westlake has a payout ratio of 36.0% meaning 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 $2.10 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 28.2%.

Westlake Stock Up 7.0%

NYSE WLK traded up $5.62 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $85.62. 1,219,364 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 599,389. The company has a 50 day moving average of $95.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Westlake has a 52-week low of $76.97 and a 52-week high of $161.31. The firm has a market cap of $10.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 120.59, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($1.01). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WLK has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Westlake from $125.00 to $103.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Westlake from $130.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Westlake from $135.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Westlake from $122.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Westlake from $144.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.08.

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.