Comparing Westlake (WLK) and Its Rivals

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) is one of 295 publicly-traded companies in the “Chemicals” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare Westlake to similar businesses based on the strength of its profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Dividends

Westlake pays an annual dividend of $2.13 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Westlake pays out -22.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Chemicals” companies pay a dividend yield of 3.1% and pay out 110.0% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Westlake has increased its dividend for 21 consecutive years. Westlake is clearly a better dividend stock than its competitors, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Westlake and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Westlake	$11.17 billion	-$1.51 billion	-6.92
Westlake Competitors	$6.77 billion	$222.31 million	-3.54

Westlake has higher revenue, but lower earnings than its competitors. Westlake is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Westlake and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Westlake	3	8	4	0	2.07
Westlake Competitors	3241	12197	14114	516	2.40

Westlake currently has a consensus price target of $81.13, indicating a potential upside of 22.44%. As a group, “Chemicals” companies have a potential upside of 6.37%. Given Westlake’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Westlake is more favorable than its competitors.

Volatility & Risk

Westlake has a beta of 0.66, meaning that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Westlake’s competitors have a beta of 0.94, meaning that their average share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Westlake and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Westlake	-10.94%	0.93%	0.44%
Westlake Competitors	-61.58%	1.07%	-1.45%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

28.4% of Westlake shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.5% of shares of all “Chemicals” companies are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Westlake shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 13.9% of shares of all “Chemicals” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Westlake competitors beat Westlake on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

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. The Performance and Essential Materials segment offers ethylene, polyethylene, styrene, chlorinated derivative products, ethylene dichloride, vinyl chloride monomer, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), epoxy specialty resins, and base epoxy resins and intermediaries, as well as chlor-alkali, such as chlorine and caustic soda. The Housing and Infrastructure Products segment provides residential PVC sidings; PVC trim and mouldings; architectural stone veneers; windows; PVC decking; PVC films for various inflatables, wallcovering, and tape and roofing applications; polymer composite and cement roof tiles; PVC pipes and fittings for various water, sewer, electrical, and industrial applications; PVC compounds used in various housing, medical, and automobile products; and consumer and commercial products, such as landscape edging; industrial, home, and office matting; marine dock edging; and masonry joint controls. It offers its products to chemical processors, plastics fabricators, small construction contractors, municipalities, and supply warehouses for use in various consumer and industrial markets, including residential construction, flexible and rigid packaging, automotive products, healthcare products, water treatment, wind turbines, and coatings, as well as other durable and non-durable goods. The company was formerly known as Westlake Chemical Corporation and changed its name to Westlake Corporation in February 2022. Westlake Corporation was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Westlake Corporation operates as a subsidiary of TTWF LP.