Financial Contrast: Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) vs. Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN)

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) and Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) are both materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Dividends

Westlake Chemical Partners pays an annual dividend of $1.89 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.7%. Hawkins pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Westlake Chemical Partners pays out 113.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Hawkins pays out 19.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hawkins has raised its dividend for 20 consecutive years.

Risk & Volatility

Westlake Chemical Partners has a beta of 0.51, suggesting that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hawkins has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Westlake Chemical Partners and Hawkins”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Westlake Chemical Partners	$1.17 billion	0.66	$48.70 million	$1.67	12.99
Hawkins	$1.08 billion	2.88	$81.55 million	$4.12	36.50

Hawkins has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Westlake Chemical Partners. Westlake Chemical Partners is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hawkins, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Westlake Chemical Partners and Hawkins, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Westlake Chemical Partners	0	1	1	0	2.50
Hawkins	0	3	1	0	2.25

Westlake Chemical Partners currently has a consensus price target of $26.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.90%. Hawkins has a consensus price target of $178.50, suggesting a potential upside of 18.71%. Given Westlake Chemical Partners’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Westlake Chemical Partners is more favorable than Hawkins.

Profitability

This table compares Westlake Chemical Partners and Hawkins’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Westlake Chemical Partners	4.77%	7.55%	4.80%
Hawkins	7.53%	15.97%	8.68%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

78.3% of Westlake Chemical Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.7% of Hawkins shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Westlake Chemical Partners shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of Hawkins shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Hawkins beats Westlake Chemical Partners on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Westlake Chemical Partners

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.

About Hawkins

Hawkins, Inc. is a specialty chemical and ingredient company founded in 1938. It supplies products and services to customers in water treatment, industrial markets, and health and nutrition. Its water treatment business serves municipal and industrial customers with chemicals and related services for water and wastewater treatment. The industrial business supplies chemicals and services to manufacturers and other commercial customers, while the health and nutrition business provides ingredients used in food, beverage, and other products.