Westlake Chemical Partners LP $WLKP Shares Sold by Invesco Ltd.

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. reduced its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 1.5%, selling 80,000 shares, leaving it with approximately 5.2 million shares, which represents around 14.75% of the company valued at $120 million.
• Westlake Chemical Partners reported an EPS of $0.41 for the latest quarter, missing expectations of $0.44, with revenues of $297.12 million against a predicted $301 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4714 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 8.6%, despite a notably high dividend payout ratio of 126.85%.

Invesco Ltd. lowered its position in Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP - Free Report) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,198,512 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 80,000 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 14.75% of Westlake Chemical Partners worth $120,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLKP. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners in the 4th quarter worth $175,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners in the 1st quarter worth $231,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,547 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,126 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the 4th quarter valued at about $456,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 29,274 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 4,288 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westlake Chemical Partners

In other news, Chairman James Chao sold 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.10, for a total value of $81,770.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,908 shares of company stock valued at $307,759. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday.

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Performance

NYSE WLKP traded up $0.05 on Monday, hitting $22.05. The stock had a trading volume of 24,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,355. Westlake Chemical Partners LP has a one year low of $21.19 and a one year high of $25.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $776.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 0.78. The company's 50-day moving average is $22.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.85.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $297.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $301.00 million. Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 6.38% and a net margin of 4.78%. On average, analysts expect that Westlake Chemical Partners LP will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a $0.4714 dividend. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. Westlake Chemical Partners's dividend payout ratio is currently 126.85%.

Westlake Chemical Partners Profile

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.