What is Zacks Research’s Estimate for Westlake Q2 Earnings?

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research lowered their Q2 2027 EPS estimates for Westlake in a research note issued to investors on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the specialty chemicals company will earn $0.66 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.77. Zacks Research currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Westlake’s current full-year earnings is $3.73 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Westlake’s Q4 2027 earnings at $0.14 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $2.00 EPS.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.67). Westlake had a negative return on equity of 1.89% and a negative net margin of 14.91%.The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.31) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

WLK has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley set a $115.00 price target on shares of Westlake and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Westlake from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Westlake from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $108.00 to $127.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Westlake in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.43.

Westlake Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE WLK opened at $88.63 on Monday. Westlake has a 1-year low of $56.33 and a 1-year high of $124.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $11.35 billion, a PE ratio of -6.98 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $108.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.76.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Westlake by 90.0% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,687 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,869,000 after acquiring an additional 18,321 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Westlake by 9.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 19,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,881,000 after acquiring an additional 1,668 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Westlake during the first quarter valued at about $211,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Westlake by 43.6% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,350 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Westlake by 18.2% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,788 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the period. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In related news, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 17,409 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.92, for a total value of $1,756,916.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,484,178.36. This represents a 28.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio is currently -16.69%.

About Westlake

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.