Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $23.70 and last traded at $23.70, with a volume of 7125 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barclays raised Westlake Chemical Partners to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th.

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Up 0.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 4.46 and a current ratio of 4.53. The firm has a market cap of $835.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.63.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.15. Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 7.31% and a net margin of 5.40%. The company had revenue of $277.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $244.16 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Westlake Chemical Partners LP will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $0.471 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.94%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. Westlake Chemical Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 108.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake Chemical Partners

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WLKP. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 2,141.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 32,763 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $734,000 after purchasing an additional 31,301 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 2,178.0% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,230,436 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,984,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132,523 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the third quarter worth $78,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the second quarter worth $181,000. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 7.5% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

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.