Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) SVP Buys $93,736.80 in Stock

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) SVP Andrew Kenner purchased 4,230 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.16 per share, for a total transaction of $93,736.80. Following the purchase, the senior vice president now directly owns 145,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,231,792.24. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Andrew Kenner also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, March 6th, Andrew Kenner purchased 5,000 shares of Westlake Chemical Partners stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.30 per share, for a total transaction of $111,500.00.
• On Thursday, February 22nd, Andrew Kenner purchased 10,000 shares of Westlake Chemical Partners stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.12 per share, for a total transaction of $221,200.00.

Westlake Chemical Partners Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WLKP opened at $22.20 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $22.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.08. The firm has a market cap of $782.11 million, a P/E ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 1.08. Westlake Chemical Partners LP has a 52 week low of $20.86 and a 52 week high of $23.68. The company has a quick ratio of 3.94, a current ratio of 4.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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). The firm had revenue of $297.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.62 million. Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 4.56% and a return on equity of 6.25%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Westlake Chemical Partners LP will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.49%. Westlake Chemical Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 122.73%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake Chemical Partners

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Westlake Chemical Partners by 61.6% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,141 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC acquired a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners in the second quarter valued at approximately $111,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.