Westlake Chemical Corporation
WLK
posted earnings of 45 cents per share in the third quarter of 2020, down from earnings of $1.22 per share in the year-ago quarter. Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings came in at 60 cents per share that beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 46 cents.
Sales fell 8.1% year over year to $1,898 million. Nevertheless, the figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,787.9 million.
Westlake Chemical Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Westlake Chemical Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart
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Westlake Chemical Corporation Quote
Segment Highlights
Sales in the Olefins segment fell 17.6% year over year to $369 million in the reported quarter. Operating income in the segment declined 44.6% to $51 million. The downside was mainly due to the impact of Hurricane Laura and higher feedstock costs.
The Vinyls segment generated sales of $1,529 million, down 5.5% year over year. Operating income in the segment was $42 million, down 72.5% year over year. Impacts of the Hurricane Laura and restructuring costs related to European vinyls business affected margins of the segment.
Financial Position
Westlake Chemical ended the third quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $1,217 million, down 15.3% year over year. Long-term debt was $3,681 million, up 7.5% year over year.
Cash flow from operations was $448 million in the quarter, up 40% year over year.
Outlook
Westlake Chemical stated that it is well-positioned to serve the needs of its customers and maintain a solid financial position. Additionally, strong fundamentals of its business are expected to enable the company to deliver long-term value to the shareholders.
Price Performance
Shares of Westlake Chemical have gained 5.5% year-to-date against the
industry
’s 3.4% decline.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Westlake Chemical currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are
Agnico Eagle Mines Limited
AEM
,
Barrick Gold Corporation
GOLD
and
B2Gold Corp
BTG
. While Agnico Eagle sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Barrick and B2Gold carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here
.
Agnico Eagle has an expected earnings growth rate of 100% for 2020. Its shares have returned 34.3% in the past year.
Barrick has an expected earnings growth rate of 100% for 2020. The company’s shares have surged 49.9% in the past year.
B2Gold has an expected earnings growth rate of 250% for 2020. The company’s shares have gained 68.1% in the past year.
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