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Westlake Chemical's (WLK) Unit Acquires DaVinci Roofscapes

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Westlake Chemical company’s (WLK - Free Report) unit — Royal Building Products — has completed the acquisition of DaVinci Roofscapes, L.L.C.

DaVinci has a leadership position as a supplier of premium composite siding and roofing. The company operates from Lenexa, KA. Moreover, it has a solid reputation for addressing customer needs with superior product quality, technology and operating excellence.

Notably, its products will continue to be sold under the DaVinci brand. The buyout complements Royal Building’s existing premium products such as Celect, Zuri and Cedar Renditions.

Shares of Westlake Chemical have lost 45% in a year’s time compared with the industry’s 44.4% decline.



The company’s adjusted earnings per share were to 94 cents in the first quarter, which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.38.

Westlake Chemical is witnessing good demand for major chemical products in the domestic and export markets. However, it experienced a difficult pricing environment in the first quarter, stemming from sharp decline in global crude oil prices in late 2018 along with softer Chinese demand.

The management is cautiously optimistic that trade tensions between the United States and China as well as crude oil prices will improve in second-half 2019.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Westlake Chemical currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Materion Corporation (MTRN - Free Report) , Flexible Solutions International Inc (FSI - Free Report) and AngloGold Ashanti Limited (AU - Free Report) , all currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Materion has an expected earnings growth rate of 27.3% for 2019. The company’s shares have gained 13.5% in the past year.

Flexible Solutions has a projected earnings growth rate of 342.9% for the current year. The company’s shares have surged 123.6% in a year’s time.

AngloGold has an estimated earnings growth rate of 90.6% for the current year. Its shares have rallied 67.8% in the past year.

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