Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) Plans $0.47 Quarterly Dividend

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.4714 per share by the basic materials company on Monday, February 23rd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 8.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th.

Westlake Chemical Partners has raised its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years. Westlake Chemical Partners has a dividend payout ratio of 92.6% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings fall. Equities analysts expect Westlake Chemical Partners to earn $1.70 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $1.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 110.6%.

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Performance

NYSE:WLKP traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $21.30. The company had a trading volume of 15,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,785. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 2.32. Westlake Chemical Partners has a 1-year low of $17.75 and a 1-year high of $25.04. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $19.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.48. The firm has a market cap of $750.83 million, a PE ratio of 15.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.59.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 4.34% and a return on equity of 6.00%. The firm had revenue of $308.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $303.00 million. Research analysts forecast that Westlake Chemical Partners will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on WLKP. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Westlake Chemical Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake Chemical Partners currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Westlake Chemical Partners Company Profile

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE: WLKP) is a publicly traded master limited partnership sponsored by Westlake Chemical Corporation. The partnership owns, operates and acquires a portfolio of ethylene and vinyl manufacturing assets throughout the United States and the United Kingdom. As a downstream producer of basic chemicals and intermediates, WLKP supplies key industrial feedstocks to customers in a variety of end markets.

WLKP’s operations are organized into two primary segments: olefins and vinyls.