Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Invests $27,000 in Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WLKP. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners in the third quarter worth about $218,000. Kovack Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners during the 4th quarter worth approximately $261,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Westlake Chemical Partners by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,294 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,513 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 43.2% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 20,043 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 6,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc boosted its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 25,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Westlake Chemical Partners

In other news, SVP Andrew Kenner purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.30 per share, with a total value of $111,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 141,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,157,880.70. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have bought a total of 24,230 shares of company stock valued at $537,587 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE WLKP traded down $0.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $22.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 18,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,212. Westlake Chemical Partners LP has a fifty-two week low of $20.86 and a fifty-two week high of $23.68. The company has a market cap of $778.54 million, a PE ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 4.02 and a quick ratio of 3.94. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.15.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 6.29% and a net margin of 4.64%. The company had revenue of $284.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $280.76 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Westlake Chemical Partners LP will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.4714 per share. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Westlake Chemical Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 122.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Westlake Chemical Partners from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th.

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.