Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Key Points

• Westlake Chemical Partners reported quarterly EPS of $0.40, missing analysts’ $0.41 consensus by $0.01. Revenue totaled $297.1 million, well below the $537 million estimate.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4714, equivalent to $1.89 annually and an 8.8% yield; the payout ratio stands at 115.24%.
• WLKP shares opened at $21.40, while institutional investors own 78.28% of the stock. Analyst sentiment is currently “Moderate Buy” after Weiss Ratings upgraded the shares from Hold to Buy.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The basic materials company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.01), FiscalAI reports. Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 4.69% and a return on equity of 7.15%. The company had revenue of $297.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $537.00 million.

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Performance

Shares of Westlake Chemical Partners stock opened at $21.40 on Tuesday. Westlake Chemical Partners has a 12 month low of $17.75 and a 12 month high of $23.88. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $22.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.23. The company has a market capitalization of $754.35 million, a PE ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 3.65, a quick ratio of 3.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Westlake Chemical Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th will be given a $0.4714 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.8%. Westlake Chemical Partners's dividend payout ratio is currently 115.24%.

Institutional Trading of Westlake Chemical Partners

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mariner LLC increased its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 12,088 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 33,708 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $640,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,749 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 7.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,911 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 1,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 7.2% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 22,654 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 1,530 shares in the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

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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