Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Westlake Chemical Partners Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Westlake Chemical Partners stock opened at $21.70 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.40. Westlake Chemical Partners has a fifty-two week low of $17.75 and a fifty-two week high of $24.58. The firm has a market cap of $765.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.01). Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 4.17%.The firm had revenue of $323.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.00 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Westlake Chemical Partners will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a $0.4714 dividend. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Westlake Chemical Partners’s payout ratio is presently 136.96%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake Chemical Partners

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners during the fourth quarter valued at $306,000. Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners in the 4th quarter worth about $224,000. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new stake in Westlake Chemical Partners during the 4th quarter worth about $173,000. Jump Financial LLC raised its holdings in Westlake Chemical Partners by 146.5% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 24,900 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $473,000 after buying an additional 14,800 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 48,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $912,000 after buying an additional 7,000 shares in the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Westlake Chemical Partners

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE: WLKP) is a publicly traded master limited partnership sponsored by Westlake Chemical Corporation. The partnership owns, operates and acquires a portfolio of ethylene and vinyl manufacturing assets throughout the United States and the United Kingdom. As a downstream producer of basic chemicals and intermediates, WLKP supplies key industrial feedstocks to customers in a variety of end markets.

WLKP’s operations are organized into two primary segments: olefins and vinyls.