Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The basic materials company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.15, Zacks reports. Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 5.40%. The firm had revenue of $277.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $244.16 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share.

Westlake Chemical Partners Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of WLKP opened at $22.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 4.68 and a quick ratio of 4.59. Westlake Chemical Partners has a 1-year low of $21.16 and a 1-year high of $23.68. The company has a market capitalization of $793.38 million, a P/E ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.54.

Westlake Chemical Partners Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.471 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.37%. Westlake Chemical Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 108.00%.

Insider Transactions at Westlake Chemical Partners

In other news, SVP Andrew Kenner acquired 2,692 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $22.63 per share, for a total transaction of $60,919.96. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 185,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,186,550. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have purchased 4,119 shares of company stock valued at $93,460 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.