Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Upgraded to Strong-Buy 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 report released on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on WLKP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from $28.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, May 22nd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from $32.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Sunday, May 14th.

Westlake Chemical Partners Trading Down 1.1 %

WLKP opened at $22.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $788.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.19. Westlake Chemical Partners has a 1-year low of $18.58 and a 1-year high of $26.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 3.28.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The basic materials company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $264.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $287.47 million. Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 6.46% and a net margin of 4.31%. Analysts expect that Westlake Chemical Partners will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 25th. Investors of record on Friday, August 11th were issued a $0.4714 dividend. This is a positive change from Westlake Chemical Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $1.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 10th. Westlake Chemical Partners’s payout ratio is 113.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Andrew Kenner purchased 5,000 shares of Westlake Chemical Partners stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $22.08 per share, with a total value of $110,400.00. Following the purchase, the senior vice president now owns 89,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,969,624.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders purchased a total of 16,498 shares of company stock valued at $373,427 over the last 90 days.

Institutional Trading of Westlake Chemical Partners

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WLKP. Verdad Advisers LP acquired a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners during the 1st quarter worth approximately $971,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 72.2% in the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 38,139 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $896,000 after buying an additional 15,995 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 473,897 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,137,000 after purchasing an additional 2,290 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Westlake Chemical Partners by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 550,049 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,926,000 after purchasing an additional 21,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC increased its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 150.7% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 89,098 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,933,000 after purchasing an additional 53,553 shares during the last quarter. 30.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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, including propylene, crude butadiene, pyrolysis gasoline, and hydrogen directly to third parties on either a spot or contract basis.