Westlake Chemical (NYSE:WLK) Company WLK is set to release first-quarter 2021 results before market opens on May 4. The company’s earnings are likely to have benefited from higher demand for polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride (“PVC”) resin.
Westlake Chemical beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in all the last four quarters. The company has a trailing-four quarter earnings surprise of 318.1%, on average.
Shares of Westlake Chemical are up 139.8% in the past year compared with 131.7% surge of its industry.
Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.
Zacks Model
Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for Westlake Chemical this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earning beat.
Earnings ESP: Earnings ESP for Westlake Chemical is +0.64%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings for the first quarter is currently pegged at $1.56. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: Westlake Chemical currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.
What do the Estimates Say?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Westlake Chemical’s first-quarter revenues is currently pinned at $1,998 million, which indicates a 3.4% year-over-year increase.
Moreover, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Westlake Chemical’s Olefins division revenues is pegged at $441 million, suggesting 3.3% rise year over year.
The consensus estimate for Vinyls unit’s revenues is at $1,574 million, indicating an increase of 4.6% year over year.
Factors to Watch For
Westlake Chemical is likely to have benefited from higher demand for polyethylene in the first quarter owing to its focus in specialty applications that include food packaging and healthcare.
The company is also likely to have gained from higher demand for PVC resin and construction-related downstream vinyl products with the easing of pandemic-induced restrictions. Rising housing starts in the United States are also likely to have contributed to the company’s downstream vinyl products business and domestic demand for PVC.
However, the company is likely to have faced headwinds in its ethylene operations due to weather-related disruptions. Higher feedstock costs are also expected to have put pressure on the company’s margins.
Other Stocks That Warrant a Look
Here are some other companies in the basic materials space you may want to consider as our model shows they too have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:
The Scotts Miracle-Gro SMG, scheduled to release earnings on May 5, has an Earnings ESP of +0.73% and a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Koppers Holdings (NYSE:KOP), Inc. KOP, scheduled to release earnings on May 7, has an Earnings ESP of +5.26% and a Zacks Rank #3.
CF Industries Holdings (NYSE:CF), Inc. CF, scheduled to release earnings on May 5, has an Earnings ESP of +4.53% and carries a Zacks Rank #3.
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Westlake Chemical Corporation (WLK): Free Stock Analysis Report
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