Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) Chairman Sells $101,660.00 in Stock

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) Chairman James Chao sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.10, for a total transaction of $101,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,770. The trade was a 55.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

James Chao also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, May 29th, James Chao sold 3,700 shares of Westlake Chemical Partners stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.10, for a total transaction of $81,770.00.
• On Tuesday, May 27th, James Chao sold 5,608 shares of Westlake Chemical Partners stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.17, for a total transaction of $124,329.36.

Westlake Chemical Partners Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Westlake Chemical Partners stock opened at $22.16 on Friday. Westlake Chemical Partners LP has a 12-month low of $21.19 and a 12-month high of $25.04. The company has a market cap of $780.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 4.53, a quick ratio of 4.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $22.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.39.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $237.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $296.00 million. Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 7.31%. On average, equities analysts expect that Westlake Chemical Partners LP will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid a $0.4714 dividend. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.51%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. Westlake Chemical Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 126.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake Chemical Partners

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WLKP. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,337 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,421 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake Chemical Partners in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake Chemical Partners in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,874,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Westlake Chemical Partners in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $456,000. 78.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.