Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Reaches New 52-Week High After Dividend Announcement

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $23.60 and last traded at $23.27, with a volume of 28751 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $22.67.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a $0.4714 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.1%. Westlake Chemical Partners’s payout ratio is currently 136.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WLKP. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold”.

Westlake Chemical Partners Trading Up 2.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 2.74. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $22.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $815.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.52.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.03). Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 4.17%. Equities analysts forecast that Westlake Chemical Partners LP will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLKP. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 142.9% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,302 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 3,708 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,749 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the period. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners during the fourth quarter worth approximately $173,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 45.8% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 10,153 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 3,187 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners during the fourth quarter worth approximately $224,000. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Chemical Partners Company Profile

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE: WLKP) is a publicly traded master limited partnership sponsored by Westlake Chemical Corporation. The partnership owns, operates and acquires a portfolio of ethylene and vinyl manufacturing assets throughout the United States and the United Kingdom. As a downstream producer of basic chemicals and intermediates, WLKP supplies key industrial feedstocks to customers in a variety of end markets.

WLKP’s operations are organized into two primary segments: olefins and vinyls.