Westlake Chemical Partners LP to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.47 (NYSE:WLKP)

Key Points

• Westlake Chemical Partners LP has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.47 per share, with an ex-dividend date of August 12. The dividend represents an annualized yield of 8.6%.
• The company has a high dividend payout ratio of 93.1%, which may pose a risk of unsustainable dividends if earnings decline, as projected earnings suggest a future payout ratio of 111.2%.
• Westlake Chemical Partners recently missed earnings expectations with a reported $0.14 EPS versus the consensus estimate of $0.38, highlighting potential challenges for the company moving forward.

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 31st, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of 0.4714 per share by the basic materials company on Wednesday, August 27th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th.

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 tumble. Equities research analysts expect Westlake Chemical Partners to earn $1.70 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $1.89 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 111.2%.

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WLKP traded up $0.05 on Thursday, hitting $22.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 43,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,127. Westlake Chemical Partners has a 12 month low of $21.19 and a 12 month high of $25.04. The company has a market capitalization of $775.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 0.77. The stock's 50-day moving average is $22.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.37.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.24). Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 6.35% and a net margin of 4.82%. The business had revenue of $237.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $296.00 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Westlake Chemical Partners will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut Westlake Chemical Partners from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th.

About Westlake Chemical Partners

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.