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

Shares of Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $23.74 and last traded at $23.71, with a volume of 30259 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WLKP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised Westlake Chemical Partners from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake Chemical Partners currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Westlake Chemical Partners Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $834.63 million, a P/E ratio of 14.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 2.80.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.03). Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 4.69% and a return on equity of 7.10%. The firm had revenue of $305.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $522.00 million. As a group, analysts expect that Westlake Chemical Partners LP will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be issued a $0.4714 dividend. This represents a $1.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. Westlake Chemical Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 114.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake Chemical Partners

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 3.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 228,885 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,285,000 after acquiring an additional 8,424 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 32,863 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at about $387,000. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 37,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $815,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 45.8% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 10,153 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 3,187 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

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.