Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning.

Westlake Chemical Partners Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of WLKP opened at $22.35 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.94, a current ratio of 4.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Westlake Chemical Partners has a 12-month low of $20.86 and a 12-month high of $23.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $787.39 million, a PE ratio of 14.51 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.08.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.04). Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 4.56% and a return on equity of 6.25%. The firm had revenue of $297.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.62 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Westlake Chemical Partners will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.4714 per share. This represents a $1.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. Westlake Chemical Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 122.73%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Andrew Kenner acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $22.12 per share, for a total transaction of $221,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 136,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,021,791.08. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have bought 19,230 shares of company stock valued at $426,437 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake Chemical Partners

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLKP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 61.6% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,141 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 137,817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,984,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 0.3% in the first quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 263,019 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,123,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 27,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC bought a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

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.