Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 19,700 Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 19,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $456,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.06% of Westlake Chemical Partners at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WLKP. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners during the 4th quarter valued at $211,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 267.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 98,437 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 71,615 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the fourth quarter worth about $1,874,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,337 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Westlake Chemical Partners by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 35,136 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 4,253 shares in the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Westlake Chemical Partners from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th.

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE WLKP traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $22.85. The company had a trading volume of 12,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,853. Westlake Chemical Partners LP has a one year low of $21.19 and a one year high of $25.04. The company has a market capitalization of $805.21 million, a PE ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.40. The company has a current ratio of 4.53, a quick ratio of 4.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $237.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $296.00 million. Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 7.31%. On average, equities analysts expect that Westlake Chemical Partners LP will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.4714 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.25%. Westlake Chemical Partners's payout ratio is 126.17%.

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.