Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $24.96 and last traded at $24.86, with a volume of 54138 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.50.

Westlake Chemical Partners Trading Up 0.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $876.95 million, a PE ratio of 14.22 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $23.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.00. The company has a quick ratio of 4.46, a current ratio of 4.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $277.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $244.16 million. Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 7.31%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Westlake Chemical Partners LP will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.4714 per share. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.58%. This is a boost from Westlake Chemical Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Westlake Chemical Partners’s payout ratio is presently 108.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,337 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at about $78,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake Chemical Partners in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041 shares during the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.