Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Posted by on Jun 16th, 2022

Shares of Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP – Get Rating) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 2,858 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 95% from the previous session’s volume of 56,366 shares.The stock last traded at $25.01 and had previously closed at $25.45.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WLKP shares. StockNews.com lowered Westlake Chemical Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 20th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from $31.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Monday, May 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from $31.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, May 16th.

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $27.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a market cap of $845.84 million, a P/E ratio of 10.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.05.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 3rd. The basic materials company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $362.40 million for the quarter. Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 8.79%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Westlake Chemical Partners LP will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 12th were given a $0.471 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 11th. Westlake Chemical Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.75%.

In other Westlake Chemical Partners news, Chairman James Chao sold 31,092 shares of Westlake Chemical Partners stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.91, for a total value of $836,685.72. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 23,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,364.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 58.9% during the second quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,688 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 22.3% during the 2nd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 282,755 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,612,000 after purchasing an additional 51,606 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $537,000. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 36,478 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $888,000 after buying an additional 617 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 32.16% of the company’s stock.

About Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP)

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, including propylene, crude butadiene, pyrolysis gasoline, and hydrogen directly to third parties on either a spot or contract basis.

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