Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) Declares $0.47 Quarterly Dividend

Key Points

• Quarterly dividend of $0.4714 per share declared, payable June 1 to holders of record on May 14 with an ex-dividend date of May 14, implying an annualized payout of about $1.89 and a yield of 8.2%.
• The dividend is currently mostly covered by earnings (payout ratio 92.6%), but analysts forecast next-year EPS of $1.71 which would push the payout ratio to about 109.9%, indicating potential sustainability risk if earnings weaken.
• WLKP reported a quarterly EPS of $0.40 (missing the $0.43 estimate), and trades around $22.95 with a PE of 16.63 and a market cap near $809 million.

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, May 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.4714 per share by the basic materials company on Monday, June 1st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th.

Westlake Chemical Partners has a dividend payout ratio of 92.6% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings fall. Research analysts expect Westlake Chemical Partners to earn $1.71 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $1.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 109.9%.

Westlake Chemical Partners Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of WLKP opened at $22.95 on Tuesday. Westlake Chemical Partners has a 52-week low of $17.75 and a 52-week high of $23.59. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm's fifty day moving average is $22.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.64. The stock has a market cap of $808.72 million, a PE ratio of 16.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.52.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.03). Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 4.17%. Research analysts forecast that Westlake Chemical Partners will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Company Profile

Westlake Chemical Partners LP NYSE: WLKP is a publicly traded master limited partnership sponsored by Westlake Chemical Corporation. The partnership owns, operates and acquires a portfolio of ethylene and vinyl manufacturing assets throughout the United States and the United Kingdom. As a downstream producer of basic chemicals and intermediates, WLKP supplies key industrial feedstocks to customers in a variety of end markets.

WLKP's operations are organized into two primary segments: olefins and vinyls.

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