Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Announces Earnings Results

Key Points

• Westlake Chemical Partners reported earnings of $0.41 per share for the quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations of $0.44.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4714, which translates to an annualized yield of 8.6%, despite a high payout ratio of 126.85%.
• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in the company by 3.8%, now holding 0.65% of Westlake Chemical Partners, showcasing institutional confidence in the stock.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.03), Zacks reports. Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 4.82% and a return on equity of 6.35%.

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Up 0.5%

WLKP traded up $0.12 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $21.92. The company had a trading volume of 5,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,988. The business's fifty day moving average price is $22.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The company has a market cap of $772.32 million, a P/E ratio of 14.71 and a beta of 0.78. Westlake Chemical Partners has a 12 month low of $21.19 and a 12 month high of $25.04.

Westlake Chemical Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a $0.4714 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.6%. Westlake Chemical Partners's payout ratio is presently 126.85%.

Insider Activity at Westlake Chemical Partners

In other news, Chairman James Chao sold 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.10, for a total value of $81,770.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 13,908 shares of company stock valued at $307,759 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Westlake Chemical Partners

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP - Free Report) by 3.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 228,885 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,424 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.65% of Westlake Chemical Partners worth $5,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of 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.

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