Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Stock Crosses Below 200 Day Moving Average of $22.11

Shares of Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $22.11 and traded as low as $21.70. Westlake Chemical Partners shares last traded at $21.73, with a volume of 16,783 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised Westlake Chemical Partners from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th.

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.11. The company has a current ratio of 4.02, a quick ratio of 3.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $765.55 million, a P/E ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 1.08.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.04). Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 4.56% and a return on equity of 6.25%. The firm had revenue of $297.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $316.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Westlake Chemical Partners LP will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a $0.4714 dividend. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.68%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. Westlake Chemical Partners’s payout ratio is 122.73%.

Insider Activity at Westlake Chemical Partners

In other news, SVP Andrew Kenner bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $22.12 per share, with a total value of $221,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,021,791.08. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders bought 24,230 shares of company stock valued at $537,587 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Westlake Chemical Partners

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLKP. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC bought a new stake in Westlake Chemical Partners during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 61.6% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,141 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the 1st quarter worth approximately $78,000. 78.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Westlake Chemical Partners

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.