Clearbridge Investments LLC Buys 147,687 Shares of Westlake Chemical Partners LP $WLKP

Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) by 30.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 633,569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 147,687 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 1.80% of Westlake Chemical Partners worth $12,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLKP. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Westlake Chemical Partners by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 520,388 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,887,000 after acquiring an additional 57,624 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 583,932 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,899,000 after buying an additional 32,863 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV raised its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 152.4% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 53,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after buying an additional 32,000 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake Chemical Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at $387,000. Finally, Samalin Investment Counsel LLC raised its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 53.9% during the 4th quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 44,326 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $842,000 after buying an additional 15,520 shares during the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Up 0.5%

WLKP opened at $23.33 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.39. Westlake Chemical Partners LP has a 52 week low of $17.75 and a 52 week high of $23.88. The company has a market capitalization of $822.43 million, a PE ratio of 14.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 3.57, a current ratio of 3.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.03). Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 7.15% and a net margin of 4.69%.The business had revenue of $305.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $522.00 million. Analysts forecast that Westlake Chemical Partners LP will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a $0.4714 dividend. This represents a $1.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. Westlake Chemical Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WLKP shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Westlake Chemical Partners from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake Chemical Partners has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Westlake Chemical Partners 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.