Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• Westlake Chemical Partners earned $0.46 per share, beating the $0.30 consensus estimate, while quarterly revenue of $314.46 million fell short of the $336.33 million forecast.
• The partnership announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4714 per share, equivalent to an 8.7% annualized yield; its payout ratio is 115.95%.
• Analyst views were mixed, but MarketBeat’s consensus rating was “Moderate Buy” with a $26 price target. Shares fell 0.7% on Wednesday.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP - Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The basic materials company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.16, FiscalAI reports. Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 7.25%. The company had revenue of $314.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.33 million.

Westlake Chemical Partners Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of WLKP stock traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $21.62. The company had a trading volume of 5,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 32,357. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 3.44 and a quick ratio of 3.36. Westlake Chemical Partners has a 1-year low of $17.75 and a 1-year high of $23.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $21.39 and a 200 day moving average of $21.99. The firm has a market cap of $762.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.51.

Westlake Chemical Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.4714 per share. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. Westlake Chemical Partners's payout ratio is currently 115.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WLKP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Westlake Chemical Partners from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Westlake Chemical Partners has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $26.00.

About Westlake Chemical Partners

Westlake Chemical Partners LP NYSE: WLKP is a master limited partnership that owns, operates and acquires ethylene production assets. Ethylene is a basic petrochemical used in the manufacture of plastics, polymers and other industrial products.

The partnership's operations are focused on ethylene production facilities in the United States, including assets in Louisiana and Kentucky. Its ethylene is sold primarily under long-term agreements to Westlake Corporation, its primary customer and sponsor, as well as to certain third-party customers.

Westlake Chemical Partners was formed in 2014 and became a publicly traded partnership that year.

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