Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Reaches New 52-Week High After Dividend Announcement

Key Points

• Shares rose to a new 52-week high after Westlake Chemical Partners announced a $0.4714 per-share dividend payable June 1, which implies a 8.1% yield with an ex‑dividend/record date of May 14.
• The dividend translates to a reported payout ratio of 136.23%, while the company recently missed quarterly EPS estimates (reported $0.40 vs. $0.43), raising questions about dividend sustainability.
• Despite some upgrades, analysts' consensus rating remains Hold, and institutional investors own about 78.3% of the stock.

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $23.60 and last traded at $23.27, with a volume of 28751 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $22.67.The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.4714 per share. This represents a $1.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. Westlake Chemical Partners's payout ratio is 136.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WLKP shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake Chemical Partners presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Westlake Chemical Partners Trading Up 2.1%

The stock has a market capitalization of $815.59 million, a PE ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business's 50-day moving average is $22.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.64.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.03). Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 4.17% and a return on equity of 5.99%. On average, analysts anticipate that Westlake Chemical Partners LP will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 9.1% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,874 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 3.1% in the first quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 106,598 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,355,000 after purchasing an additional 3,221 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 3.4% in the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,084 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners in the fourth quarter valued at $306,000. Finally, Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners in the fourth quarter valued at $224,000. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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