Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) Short Interest Down 12.0% in February

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 123,300 shares, a decline of 12.0% from the January 31st total of 140,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 40,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Up 0.6 %

WLKP stock opened at $24.20 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $852.61 million, a PE ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.17. Westlake Chemical Partners has a 52 week low of $21.19 and a 52 week high of $25.04. The company has a quick ratio of 4.46, a current ratio of 4.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 paid a $0.4714 dividend. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This is an increase from Westlake Chemical Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Westlake Chemical Partners’s payout ratio is 106.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLKP. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 2,141.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 32,763 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $734,000 after acquiring an additional 31,301 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 1,041 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 55,478 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,243,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 27,216 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

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.