Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Hits New 12-Month Low - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Westlake Chemical Partners' share price hit a new 12-month low at $20.52, with a recent trading volume of 4,816 shares.
• The company's stock has received mixed ratings, with two analysts rating it as "Hold" after a recent downgrade by Wall Street Zen from "Buy".
• Westlake reported a quarterly EPS of $0.41, missing estimates, and declared a dividend yielding 9.3%, with a payout ratio of 126.17%.

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $20.52 and last traded at $20.53, with a volume of 4816 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $20.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WLKP has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Westlake Chemical Partners to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $717.47 million, a P/E ratio of 13.66, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.73. The stock's 50 day moving average is $21.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 2.10.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $297.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $301.00 million. Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 6.38%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Westlake Chemical Partners LP will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were given a $0.4714 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.3%. Westlake Chemical Partners's payout ratio is 126.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jean-Marc Gilson purchased 4,700 shares of Westlake Chemical Partners stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $21.84 per share, for a total transaction of $102,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $201,102.72. This represents a 104.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake Chemical Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fractal Investments LLC acquired a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners in the first quarter valued at about $1,856,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in Westlake Chemical Partners by 1.6% in the first quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 103,390 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,387,000 after buying an additional 1,610 shares in the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Westlake Chemical Partners by 24.6% in the second quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 37,923 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $838,000 after buying an additional 7,478 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners in the first quarter valued at about $231,000. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Westlake Chemical Partners by 7.3% in the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,547 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 1,126 shares in the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Chemical Partners Company Profile

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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