Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 87,520 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 142% from the previous session’s volume of 36,212 shares.The stock last traded at $23.58 and had previously closed at $23.55.

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Performance

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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $833.07 million, a PE ratio of 13.51 and a beta of 1.09.

Westlake Chemical Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.4714 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This is a positive change from Westlake Chemical Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.98%. Westlake Chemical Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 108.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WLKP. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 2,132,523 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Westlake Chemical Partners in the fourth quarter worth $1,874,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Westlake Chemical Partners by 267.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 98,437 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,206,000 after buying an additional 71,615 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 31,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Westlake Chemical Partners in the fourth quarter worth $456,000. 78.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.