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

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

Westlake Chemical Partners Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Westlake Chemical Partners stock opened at $21.40 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.57, a current ratio of 3.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Westlake Chemical Partners has a 12-month low of $17.75 and a 12-month high of $23.88. The company has a market capitalization of $754.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $22.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.23.

Westlake Chemical Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.4714 per share. This represents a $1.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. Westlake Chemical Partners’s dividend payout ratio is 115.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 228,885 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,285,000 after purchasing an additional 8,424 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 583,932 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,899,000 after buying an additional 32,863 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners during the 2nd quarter worth $387,000. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 37,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $815,000 after buying an additional 6,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 45.8% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 10,153 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 3,187 shares during the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.