April 22, 2011
Westlake Chemical Corp. (WLK)
Written By Richard Segarra, CFA
From Ford Equity Research Report: “Westlake Chemical Corp. (WLK) is a manufacturer and marketer of basic chemicals, vinyls, polymers and fabricated polyvinyl chloride (PVC) building products. … Earnings strength is positive. Ford’s earnings momentum measures the acceleration or deceleration in trailing 12 month operating earnings per share growth. …
“While Westlake Chemical’s earnings have increased from $1.10 to an estimated $4.00 over the past five quarters, they have shown acceleration in quarterly growth rates when adjusted for the volatility of earnings [see chart]. This indicates an improvement in future earnings growth may occur. … Relative valuation is positive. Westlake’s operating earnings yield of 7.1% ranks above 79% of the other companies in the Ford universe of stocks, indicating that it is undervalued. … Price movement is positive. Westlake’s stock price is up 113.3% in the last 12 months, up 30.1% in the past quarter and up 21.0% in the past month. This historical performance should lead to above-average price performance in the next one to three months.”
Richard Segarra, CFA, Ford Equity Research Report, 4/1/11
Tags: Westlake Chemical Corporation, WLK
