Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 1st, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of 0.4714 per share by the basic materials company on Wednesday, May 29th. This represents a $1.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th.
Westlake Chemical Partners has a dividend payout ratio of 93.1% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings decline. Equities analysts expect Westlake Chemical Partners to earn $1.91 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.89 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 99.0%.
Westlake Chemical Partners Trading Up 0.8 %
Shares of NYSE:WLKP traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $22.04. The company had a trading volume of 13,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,191. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $22.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.14. The company has a market capitalization of $776.47 million, a PE ratio of 14.31 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 4.02 and a quick ratio of 3.94. Westlake Chemical Partners has a one year low of $20.86 and a one year high of $23.68.
Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $297.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.62 million. Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 4.56% and a return on equity of 6.25%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.48 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Westlake Chemical Partners will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.
Insider Activity at Westlake Chemical Partners
In other Westlake Chemical Partners news, SVP Andrew Kenner purchased 5,000 shares of Westlake Chemical Partners stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $22.30 per share, with a total value of $111,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 141,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,157,880.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 24,230 shares of company stock valued at $537,587. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Westlake Chemical Partners
About Westlake Chemical Partners
(
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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.
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