Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $93.02, but opened at $102.72. Westlake shares last traded at $103.2290, with a volume of 172,984 shares trading hands.

The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $1.22. The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. Westlake had a negative return on equity of 0.78% and a negative net margin of 8.34%.The company’s revenue was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.06 EPS.

Westlake Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -28.57%.

Westlake News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Westlake this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 quarterly beat — Westlake reported Q4 EPS of ($0.25), beating consensus of ($1.33) by $1.08; management provided a press release and slide deck with details (helping today’s upside). Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Asia growth push — Westlake’s epoxy distribution partner Brenntag will expand the partnership into India, broadening the company’s Asia‑Pacific channel reach and targeting infrastructure/industrial demand growth. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend maintained — Westlake declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53/share (record Mar 3, pay Mar 18), a cash return that supports income investor interest and likely lifted sentiment. (Dividend yield ~2.3% as previously reported.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Board changes — The company appointed Bhavesh V. “Bob” Patel and elected CEO Jean‑Marc Gilson to the board; adds industry experience but is largely governance‑level news. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Westlake Chemical Partners (WLKP) update — The partner reported a Q4 recovery and maintained its distribution, which supports cash flow to related entities but is an indirect driver for WLK. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst preview/coverage — Earnings previews and analyst notes circulated ahead of results; useful for context but not a direct catalyst. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Full‑year weakness — Despite the Q4 beat, Westlake reported a challenging 2025 with significant losses, negative net margin (~‑8.3%) and minimal ROE, signaling continued macro/operational headwinds that could pressure earnings normalization. Read More.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WLK shares. Alembic Global Advisors set a $80.00 price target on Westlake in a report on Monday, November 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a report on Friday, January 16th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up from $85.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Westlake from $82.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Westlake has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westlake news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.57, for a total value of $3,004,304.52. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 627,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,181,507.54. This represents a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Westlake by 7,239.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,220,717 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $312,080,000 after buying an additional 4,163,207 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in Westlake during the 4th quarter worth $160,548,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the second quarter valued at about $104,314,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its position in Westlake by 246.0% in the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,456,871 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $110,621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035,851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new stake in Westlake in the 2nd quarter valued at about $62,508,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $13.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.77, a PEG ratio of 47.52 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.12.

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.