Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) Short Interest Update

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 112,200 shares, a decline of 15.6% from the February 28th total of 133,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 38,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake Chemical Partners

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,337 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners in the 4th quarter worth approximately $175,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners during the 4th quarter worth approximately $211,000. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Chemical Partners Price Performance

WLKP stock traded up $0.19 on Thursday, hitting $23.41. 18,205 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 47,124. The stock has a market cap of $824.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.37 and a beta of 0.93. Westlake Chemical Partners has a 1-year low of $21.19 and a 1-year high of $25.04. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.86 and a 200-day moving average of $23.28.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $290.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $262.00 million. Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 7.31% and a net margin of 5.40%. On average, analysts forecast that Westlake Chemical Partners will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.4714 dividend. This is a positive change from Westlake Chemical Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.06%. Westlake Chemical Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.