Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) Short Interest Down 20.9% in March

Key Points

• Short interest fell sharply by 20.9% in March to 115,655 shares (about 0.3% of the stock) with a short-interest ratio of 3.5 days.
• Westlake Chemical Partners pays a high quarterly dividend of $0.4714 (annualized $1.89) for a yield of 8.5%, but the dividend payout ratio is elevated at 136.96%, raising sustainability concerns.
• In the latest quarter the firm reported EPS of $0.41 (missed by $0.01) with revenue of $323.05M (beat estimates); the stock trades near $22.30 with a market cap of about $786M and a P/E of 16.16.

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 115,655 shares, a decrease of 20.9% from the March 15th total of 146,247 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 33,182 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days. Currently, 0.3% of the company's stock are sold short.

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Performance

Westlake Chemical Partners stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $22.30. 21,834 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 26,527. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 2.74. Westlake Chemical Partners has a fifty-two week low of $17.75 and a fifty-two week high of $23.82. The company has a market capitalization of $785.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.57. The firm's fifty day moving average is $21.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.53.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $323.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.00 million. Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 4.17%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Westlake Chemical Partners will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.4714 per share. This represents a $1.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Westlake Chemical Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 136.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake Chemical Partners

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Westlake Chemical Partners by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 633,569 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $12,038,000 after purchasing an additional 147,687 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Westlake Chemical Partners by 6.0% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 583,932 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $12,899,000 after purchasing an additional 32,863 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Westlake Chemical Partners by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 520,388 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $9,887,000 after purchasing an additional 57,624 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Westlake Chemical Partners by 1.3% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 255,275 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,358,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 3.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 228,885 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,285,000 after buying an additional 8,424 shares in the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WLKP. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

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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