Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WLKP opened at $22.00 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $22.13 and its 200 day moving average is $22.86. The stock has a market cap of $775.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 0.78. Westlake Chemical Partners has a 1-year low of $21.19 and a 1-year high of $25.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $297.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $301.00 million. Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 6.38% and a net margin of 4.78%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake Chemical Partners will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman James Chao sold 5,608 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.17, for a total transaction of $124,329.36. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 8,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $184,011. The trade was a 40.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 13,908 shares of company stock worth $307,759 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake Chemical Partners

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLKP. Fractal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake Chemical Partners in the first quarter worth $1,856,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Westlake Chemical Partners by 6.0% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 583,932 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,899,000 after acquiring an additional 32,863 shares in the last quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Westlake Chemical Partners by 1.4% in the second quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 1,774,544 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,200,000 after acquiring an additional 24,459 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Westlake Chemical Partners in the fourth quarter worth $456,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Westlake Chemical Partners in the second quarter worth $387,000. 78.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.