LPL Financial LLC Raises Position in Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP)

LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) by 13.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,136 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 4,253 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.10% of Westlake Chemical Partners worth $813,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 3.4% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Westlake Chemical Partners by 32.2% during 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 during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Westlake Chemical Partners in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in Westlake Chemical Partners by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 24,287 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 2,327 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners during the 4th quarter valued at $211,000. Institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Performance

Shares of WLKP opened at $23.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $814.73 million, a P/E ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 4.53 and a quick ratio of 4.46. Westlake Chemical Partners LP has a one year low of $21.19 and a one year high of $25.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $23.35 and a 200 day moving average of $23.31.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $290.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $262.00 million. Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 5.40% and a return on equity of 7.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake Chemical Partners LP will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.4714 per share. This is an increase from Westlake Chemical Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.16%. Westlake Chemical Partners’s payout ratio is presently 106.21%.

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.