Westlake Chemical Company WLK is set to release second-quarter 2021 results before market open on Aug 3. 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 319.6%, on average. The company posted an earnings surprise of 19.9% in the last reported quarter.

Shares of Westlake Chemical are up 44.8% in the past year compared with 44.8% surge of its industry.

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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 +1.50%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings for the second quarter is currently pegged at $3.80. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Westlake Chemical currently flaunts a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

What do the Estimates Say?

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Westlake Chemical’s second-quarter revenues is currently pinned at $2,467 million, which indicates a 44.4% year-over-year increase.

Moreover, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Westlake Chemical’s Olefins division revenues is pegged at $559 million, suggesting 54.8% rise year over year.

The consensus estimate for Vinyls unit’s revenues is at $1,659 million, indicating an increase of 23% year over year.

Factors to Watch For

Westlake Chemical is likely to have benefited from higher demand for polyethylene in the second 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.

Westlake Chemical Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Westlake Chemical Corporation price-eps-surprise | Westlake Chemical Corporation Quote

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 that these also have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this time around.

AdvanSix Inc. ASIX, scheduled to release earnings on Jul 30, has an Earnings ESP of +21.30% and a Zacks Rank #1.

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. LYB scheduled to release earnings on Jul 30, has an Earnings ESP of +6.99% and flaunts a Zacks Rank #1.

Eastman Chemical Company EMN, scheduled to release earnings on Aug 2, has an Earnings ESP of +0.90% and carries a Zacks Rank #3.

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Westlake Chemical Corporation (WLK) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Eastman Chemical Company (EMN) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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