#  Comparing Westlake Chemical Partners (WLKP) & The Competition 

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE: WLKP) is one of 34 public companies in the “Commodity Chemicals” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its competitors? We will compare Westlake Chemical Partners to similar businesses based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, dividends and risk. 

Westlake Chemical Partners pays an annual dividend of $1.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.5%. Westlake Chemical Partners pays out 102.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. As a group, “Commodity Chemicals” companies pay a dividend yield of 1.8% and pay out 62.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Westlake Chemical Partners has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. 

**Analyst Recommendations**

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Westlake Chemical Partners and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.com. 

**Sell Ratings** | **Hold Ratings** | **Buy Ratings** | **Strong Buy Ratings** | **Rating Score**  
---|---|---|---|---  
**Westlake Chemical Partners** | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3.00  
**Westlake Chemical Partners Competitors** | 98 | 751 | 1134 | 32 | 2.55  
  
Westlake Chemical Partners presently has a consensus price target of $26.50, suggesting a potential upside of 18.04%. As a group, “Commodity Chemicals” companies have a potential downside of 3.09%. Given Westlake Chemical Partners’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Westlake Chemical Partners is more favorable than its competitors.

**Insider & Institutional Ownership**

73.3% of Westlake Chemical Partners shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.0% of shares of all “Commodity Chemicals” companies are held by institutional investors. 8.2% of shares of all “Commodity Chemicals” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

**Risk and Volatility**

Westlake Chemical Partners has a beta of 1.21, meaning that its stock price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Westlake Chemical Partners’ competitors have a beta of 1.17, meaning that their average stock price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500. 

**Profitability**

This table compares Westlake Chemical Partners and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

**Net Margins** | **Return on Equity** | **Return on Assets**  
---|---|---  
**Westlake Chemical Partners** | 3.60% | 4.34% | 2.54%  
**Westlake Chemical Partners Competitors** | -29.86% | 24.06% | 5.26%  
  
**Valuation and Earnings**

This table compares Westlake Chemical Partners and its competitors revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

**Gross Revenue** | **EBITDA** | **Price/Earnings Ratio**  
---|---|---  
**Westlake Chemical Partners** | $1.09 billion | $456.12 million | 15.81  
**Westlake Chemical Partners Competitors** | $4.15 billion | $892.82 million | 34.36  
  
Westlake Chemical Partners’ competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Westlake Chemical Partners. Westlake Chemical Partners is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry. 

**Summary**

Westlake Chemical Partners competitors beat Westlake Chemical Partners on 8 of the 15 factors compared.