Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $24.15 and last traded at $24.11, with a volume of 21374 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 4.53 and a quick ratio of 4.46. The company has a market cap of $841.18 million, a PE ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.66.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.15. Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 7.31% and a net margin of 5.40%. The company had revenue of $277.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $244.16 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Westlake Chemical Partners LP will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a $0.471 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. Westlake Chemical Partners’s payout ratio is currently 108.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake Chemical Partners

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the second quarter worth about $181,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners during the third quarter worth about $78,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 2,178.0% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,230,436 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,984,000 after acquiring an additional 2,132,523 shares during the period. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Westlake Chemical Partners by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Chemical Partners Company Profile

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.