--- title: "Westlake Chemical PRN announces new chief financial officer" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/283409639.md" description: "Westlake Chemical Partners LP has announced that Jonathan H. Baksht will become the new Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective June 15, 2026, succeeding M. Steven Bender, who will retire. Baksht's extensive experience in finance, particularly in the oil and gas sector, is expected to support the company's growth. The leadership transition is seen as orderly and crucial for stakeholders, given the capital-intensive nature of the business. The latest analyst rating for WLKP stock is a Buy with a price target of $26.00, reflecting solid financial performance despite some cyclical challenges." datetime: "2026-04-20T21:33:39.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/283409639.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/283409639.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/283409639.md) generator: "portal-rs" --- # Westlake Chemical PRN announces new chief financial officer ### Claim 30% Off TipRanks - Unlock hedge fund-level data and powerful investing tools for smarter, sharper decisions - Discover top-performing stock ideas and upgrade to a portfolio of market leaders with Smart Investor Picks Westlake Chemical PRN ( (WLKP) ) has shared an announcement. On April 20, 2026, Westlake Chemical Partners LP announced that Jonathan H. Baksht will become Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and a director of its general partner, Westlake Chemical Partners GP LLC, effective June 15, 2026. Concurrently, he will assume the role of Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Westlake Corporation, the indirect parent of the general partner. Baksht succeeds M. Steven Bender, who will retire from the general partner’s board and transition from Executive Vice President and CFO to Special Advisor to the President on June 15, 2026, ahead of his planned year-end retirement. With a track record as CFO at Fortune Brands Innovations, Pactiv Evergreen (now Novolex), and Valaris, plus earlier experience in investment banking and consulting, his appointment signals a continuity-focused yet strategically experienced financial leadership transition that could support Westlake Chemical Partners’ growth and development plans. The company’s leadership highlighted Baksht’s broad background across oil and gas, packaging and building products as valuable to the partnership’s ongoing expansion, while publicly acknowledging Bender’s contributions since the partnership’s formation. The move underscores an orderly succession at the top of the finance function, which is important for investors and other stakeholders given the partnership’s capital-intensive ethylene production operations and its role within the wider Westlake group. The most recent analyst rating on (WLKP) stock is a Buy with a $26.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Westlake Chemical PRN stock, see the WLKP Stock Forecast page. **Spark’s Take on WLKP Stock** According to Spark, TipRanks’ AI Analyst, WLKP is a Neutral. The score is driven primarily by solid underlying financial performance (especially cash flow strength) but constrained by cyclical earnings/revenue and a balance-sheet data inconsistency. Technicals are supportive with the unit price above major moving averages, and valuation is helped by a high dividend yield and moderate P/E. Earnings-call guidance is constructive for 2026, though the recent full-year coverage shortfall keeps risk moderate. To see Spark’s full report on WLKP stock, click here. **More about Westlake Chemical PRN** Westlake Chemical Partners LP is a Houston-headquartered limited partnership formed by Westlake Corporation to operate, acquire and develop ethylene production facilities and related qualified assets. The partnership owns a 22.8% interest in Westlake Chemical OpCo LP, whose assets include three facilities in Calvert City, Kentucky, and Lake Charles, Louisiana that process ethane and propane into ethylene, as well as an ethylene pipeline. This structure positions Westlake Chemical Partners as a key midstream and production player within the ethylene value chain, providing feedstock to the broader Westlake corporate network and potentially benefiting from industrial demand for basic petrochemicals. Its focus on ethane- and propane-based ethylene production underpins its role in supplying a core building block for plastics and other chemical products across North American markets. **Average Trading Volume:** 42,842 **Technical Sentiment Signal:** Strong Buy **Current Market Cap:** $786M For a thorough assessment of WLKP stock, go to TipRanks’ Stock Analysis page. ### Related Stocks - [WLKP.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/WLKP.US.md) - [WLK.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/WLK.US.md) - [FBIN.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FBIN.US.md) - [PTVE.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PTVE.US.md) - [VAL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/VAL.US.md) - [VAL+.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/VAL+.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [Westlake Chemical Partners Q2 FY26 net income slips to $14.24 million; net sales hold at $297.1 million](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294806781.md) - [Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Reaches New 52-Week High After Dividend Announcement](https://longbridge.com/en/news/285239893.md) - [Westlake Announces Dual Listing on NYSE Texas | WLK Stock News](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296634919.md) - [The Outlook for a Smaller Ghana Cocoa Crop Supports Prices](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296516744.md) - [Landstar System (LSTR) Names New General Counsel, Is The Stock Still Cheap?](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296297440.md) --- > **Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.**