Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR – Get Free Report) and Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP – Get Free Report) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and dividends.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
77.5% of Quaker Houghton shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.3% of Westlake Chemical Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Quaker Houghton shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Westlake Chemical Partners shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Quaker Houghton and Westlake Chemical Partners, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Quaker Houghton | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.40 |
| Westlake Chemical Partners | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
Dividends
Quaker Houghton pays an annual dividend of $2.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Westlake Chemical Partners pays an annual dividend of $1.89 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.5%. Quaker Houghton pays out -1,691.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Westlake Chemical Partners pays out 137.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Quaker Houghton has raised its dividend for 17 consecutive years.
Profitability
This table compares Quaker Houghton and Westlake Chemical Partners’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Quaker Houghton | -0.13% | 8.99% | 4.42% |
| Westlake Chemical Partners | 4.17% | 5.99% | 3.74% |
Risk and Volatility
Quaker Houghton has a beta of 1.43, meaning that its share price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Westlake Chemical Partners has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Quaker Houghton and Westlake Chemical Partners”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Quaker Houghton | $1.89 billion | 1.31 | -$2.49 million | ($0.12) | -1,188.99 |
| Westlake Chemical Partners | $1.17 billion | 0.67 | $48.70 million | $1.38 | 16.19 |
Westlake Chemical Partners has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Quaker Houghton. Quaker Houghton is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Westlake Chemical Partners, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Quaker Houghton beats Westlake Chemical Partners on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Quaker Houghton
Quaker Chemical Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, and markets various formulated specialty chemical products for a range of heavy industrial and manufacturing applications in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It offers metal removal fluids, cleaning fluids, corrosion inhibitors, metal drawing and forming fluids, die-cast mold releases, heat treatment and quenchants, metal forging fluids, hydraulic fluids, specialty greases, offshore sub-sea energy control fluids, rolling lubricants, rod and wire drawing fluids, and surface treatment chemicals. The company also provides chemical management services. It serves steel, aluminum, automotive, aerospace, offshore, container, mining, and metalworking companies. The company was founded in 1918 and is headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.
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. Westlake Chemical Partners GP LLC serves as the general partner of the company. Westlake Chemical Partners LP was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
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