Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $24.15 and last traded at $24.11, with a volume of 21374 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Barclays raised shares of Westlake Chemical Partners to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th.

Westlake Chemical Partners Trading Up 0.1 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.64 and a 200 day moving average of $22.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 4.46 and a current ratio of 4.53. The company has a market capitalization of $841.18 million, a P/E ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 1.11.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $277.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $244.16 million. Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 7.31%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Westlake Chemical Partners LP will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a $0.471 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.89%. Westlake Chemical Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 108.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake Chemical Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 2,178.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,230,436 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,984,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132,523 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Westlake Chemical Partners by 2,141.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 32,763 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $734,000 after buying an additional 31,301 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in Westlake Chemical Partners by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 55,478 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,243,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at $181,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Westlake Chemical Partners during the 3rd quarter valued at about $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

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.