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

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The basic materials company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.15, Zacks reports. Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 6.68% and a net margin of 4.78%. The company had revenue of $277.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $244.16 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.37 EPS.

Westlake Chemical Partners Price Performance

WLKP stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $22.30. 52,842 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 45,560. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $22.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.54. The stock has a market cap of $785.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 1.10. Westlake Chemical Partners has a fifty-two week low of $21.16 and a fifty-two week high of $23.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 4.59 and a current ratio of 4.68.

Westlake Chemical Partners Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.471 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.45%. Westlake Chemical Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 117.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Andrew Kenner purchased 2,692 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.63 per share, with a total value of $60,919.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 185,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,186,550. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 16,119 shares of company stock valued at $369,340. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.