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

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.01), Zacks reports. Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 6.00% and a net margin of 4.34%.

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Performance

Shares of WLKP stock opened at $21.25 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $748.91 million, a PE ratio of 15.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.39. Westlake Chemical Partners has a 52 week low of $17.75 and a 52 week high of $25.04.

Westlake Chemical Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $0.4714 dividend. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Westlake Chemical Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 134.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WLKP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Westlake Chemical Partners currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 10.8% in the third quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 41,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $861,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 1.7% during 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 period. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in Westlake Chemical Partners by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 22,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Westlake Chemical Partners by 146.5% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 24,900 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 14,800 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Westlake Chemical Partners by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282 shares during the period. 78.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Westlake Chemical Partners

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.