Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Sees Large Volume Increase

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) shares saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 508,836 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 1,227% from the previous session’s volume of 38,344 shares.The stock last traded at $22.20 and had previously closed at $22.05.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th.

Westlake Chemical Partners Trading Up 2.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 5.09 and a current ratio of 5.21. The stock has a market cap of $792.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.17.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 6.32% and a net margin of 4.64%. The business had revenue of $284.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $280.76 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Westlake Chemical Partners LP will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.4714 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.38%. Westlake Chemical Partners’s payout ratio is 122.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Andrew Kenner acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.30 per share, for a total transaction of $111,500.00. Following the purchase, the senior vice president now directly owns 141,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,157,880.70. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 24,230 shares of company stock valued at $537,587. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC acquired a new stake in Westlake Chemical Partners during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners during the 1st quarter worth about $78,000. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners during the 3rd quarter worth about $218,000. Kovack Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners in the 4th quarter valued at about $261,000. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Westlake Chemical Partners by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,294 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,513 shares during the period. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Westlake Chemical Partners

Westlake Chemical Partners LP acquires, develops, and operates ethylene production facilities and related assets in the United States. The company's ethylene production facilities primarily convert ethane into ethylene. It also sells ethylene co-products, such as propylene, crude butadiene, pyrolysis gasoline, and hydrogen directly to third parties on either a spot or contract basis.