Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Stock Crosses Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.67 and traded as high as $23.15. Westlake Chemical Partners shares last traded at $23.1150, with a volume of 28,472 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Westlake Chemical Partners has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Down 0.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 3.57 and a current ratio of 3.65. The company has a market cap of $814.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $22.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.24.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.03). Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 7.15% and a net margin of 4.69%.The business had revenue of $305.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $522.00 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Westlake Chemical Partners LP will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a $0.4714 dividend. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. Westlake Chemical Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 114.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake Chemical Partners

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 36.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,582 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,833 shares during the last quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 1.1% in the first quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 1,582,007 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,947,000 after purchasing an additional 17,518 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 9.1% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,874 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 3.1% in the first quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 106,598 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,355,000 after purchasing an additional 3,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 3.4% in the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,084 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Chemical Partners Company Profile

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE: WLKP) is a publicly traded master limited partnership sponsored by Westlake Chemical Corporation. The partnership owns, operates and acquires a portfolio of ethylene and vinyl manufacturing assets throughout the United States and the United Kingdom. As a downstream producer of basic chemicals and intermediates, WLKP supplies key industrial feedstocks to customers in a variety of end markets.

WLKP’s operations are organized into two primary segments: olefins and vinyls.