Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 508,836 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 1,227% from the previous session’s volume of 38,344 shares.The stock last traded at $22.20 and had previously closed at $22.05.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Westlake Chemical Partners Trading Up 2.0 %

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.17. The firm has a market cap of $792.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 5.09, a current ratio of 5.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last posted 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 6.32% and a net margin of 4.64%. The firm had revenue of $284.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $280.76 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Westlake Chemical Partners LP will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.4714 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.38%. Westlake Chemical Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 122.73%.

Insider Transactions at Westlake Chemical Partners

In related news, SVP Andrew Kenner bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.30 per share, for a total transaction of $111,500.00. Following the purchase, the senior vice president now owns 141,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,157,880.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 24,230 shares of company stock valued at $537,587. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 537,225 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,685,000 after buying an additional 45,515 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 2,065.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 31,652 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $685,000 after purchasing an additional 30,190 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 4.4% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 595,137 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,944,000 after purchasing an additional 25,123 shares during the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners during the 4th quarter worth approximately $261,000. Finally, Samalin Investment Counsel LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $218,000. 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.