Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Stock Price Breaks Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) shares crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $21.36 and traded as high as $21.49. Westlake Chemical Partners shares last traded at $21.47, with a volume of 13,086 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WLKP. Weiss Ratings cut Westlake Chemical Partners from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Westlake Chemical Partners has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.00.

Westlake Chemical Partners Trading Up 2.2%

The firm has a market cap of $756.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $21.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.00. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 3.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $314.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.33 million. Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 7.55% and a net margin of 4.77%. As a group, research analysts expect that Westlake Chemical Partners LP will post 1.50 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.4714 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.8%. Westlake Chemical Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake Chemical Partners

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Energy Income Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Westlake Chemical Partners by 1.1% during the first quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 1,582,007 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,947,000 after buying an additional 17,518 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in Westlake Chemical Partners by 5.9% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 114,242 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after buying an additional 6,348 shares during the period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners in the second quarter valued at $867,000. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. increased its holdings in Westlake Chemical Partners by 5.0% in the third quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 21,408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC boosted its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 12,760 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Chemical Partners Company Profile

Westlake Chemical Partners LP is a master limited partnership formed in 2014 to own and operate ethylene production facilities and related assets. Its operations are conducted through Westlake Chemical OpCo LP, in which the partnership holds an interest. The partnership’s assets include ethylene production facilities in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and Calvert City, Kentucky, as well as related pipeline and storage infrastructure. Ethylene is a key chemical building block used to make products such as polyethylene and other plastics.