Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Share Price Crosses Below 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP)’s stock price crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $22.31 and traded as low as $21.36. Westlake Chemical Partners shares last traded at $21.5150, with a volume of 27,224 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Westlake Chemical Partners from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $21.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.31. The company has a market capitalization of $752.68 million, a P/E ratio of 13.10, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 3.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $297.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $537.00 million. Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 4.66%. Equities analysts anticipate that Westlake Chemical Partners LP will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th were paid a $0.4714 dividend. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. Westlake Chemical Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake Chemical Partners

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLKP. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 633,569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,038,000 after purchasing an additional 147,687 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners during the second quarter valued at about $867,000. ING Groep NV increased its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 82,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,558,000 after buying an additional 29,000 shares during the period. Energy Income Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 1,582,007 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,947,000 after acquiring an additional 17,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centennial Bank AR bought a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the 4th quarter valued at about $173,000. Institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

About Westlake Chemical Partners

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) is a master limited partnership that owns, operates and acquires ethylene production assets. Ethylene is a basic petrochemical used in the manufacture of polyethylene, vinyl products and other chemical materials.

The partnership’s principal business is the production and sale of ethylene. Its output is sold primarily to Westlake Corporation, its sponsor, under long-term commercial arrangements, with additional sales to third-party customers. Westlake Chemical Partners’ assets are located in the United States and are integrated with Westlake’s broader petrochemical operations.

Westlake Chemical Partners was formed in 2014 and became a publicly traded partnership on the New York Stock Exchange that year.