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

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The basic materials company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $284.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $280.76 million. Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 6.25% and a net margin of 4.56%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share.

Westlake Chemical Partners Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of WLKP stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Thursday, hitting $22.09. 11,550 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 27,003. The firm has a market capitalization of $778.23 million, a P/E ratio of 14.34 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $22.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.14. Westlake Chemical Partners has a 52-week low of $20.86 and a 52-week high of $23.68.

Westlake Chemical Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.4714 per share. This represents a $1.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Westlake Chemical Partners’s payout ratio is presently 122.73%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Andrew Kenner purchased 5,000 shares of Westlake Chemical Partners stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were purchased 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 $3,157,880.70. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 24,230 shares of company stock valued at $537,587. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Westlake Chemical Partners

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.