Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Shares Gap Up to $22.48

Posted by Defense World Staff on Apr 23rd, 2023

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP – Get Rating)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $22.48, but opened at $23.09. Westlake Chemical Partners shares last traded at $22.77, with a volume of 4,957 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock.

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 3.67, a quick ratio of 3.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $22.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.97. The company has a market cap of $804.07 million, a P/E ratio of 12.48 and a beta of 1.00.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 4.03% and a return on equity of 6.75%. The company had revenue of $366.84 million during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Westlake Chemical Partners LP will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 2nd were issued a $0.471 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.25%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 1st. Westlake Chemical Partners’s payout ratio is 103.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Andrew Kenner bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.44 per share, for a total transaction of $107,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now directly owns 65,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,393,600. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 61.6% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,141 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 2,101.0% in the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,894 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 197,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the fourth quarter worth approximately $235,000. 31.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Westlake Chemical Partners

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Westlake Chemical Partners LP engages in the operation, acquisition and development of ethylene production facilities and related assets. It is also involved in the manufacture and marketing of basic chemicals, polymers, and fabricated building products. The company was founded on March 14, 2014 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.