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

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 140,100 shares, an increase of 20.8% from the January 15th total of 116,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 41,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WLKP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 267.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 98,437 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 71,615 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 2,141.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 2,178.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,230,436 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,984,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132,523 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Westlake Chemical Partners by 2.7% during the third 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, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Westlake Chemical Partners by 32.2% in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Performance

WLKP traded up $0.09 during trading on Monday, hitting $23.64. The stock had a trading volume of 99,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,747. The firm has a market capitalization of $833.07 million, a P/E ratio of 13.51 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 4.46 and a current ratio of 4.53. Westlake Chemical Partners has a twelve month low of $21.19 and a twelve month high of $24.98.

Westlake Chemical Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.4714 per share. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.98%. This is an increase from Westlake Chemical Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Westlake Chemical Partners’s dividend payout ratio is 108.00%.

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.