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

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

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Up 0.7%

WLKP opened at $22.1550 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $780.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87 and a beta of 0.78. Westlake Chemical Partners has a twelve month low of $21.19 and a twelve month high of $25.04. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $22.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.76.

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 company had revenue of $297.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $301.00 million. Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 6.38%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Westlake Chemical Partners will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westlake Chemical Partners news, Chairman James Chao sold 5,608 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.17, for a total value of $124,329.36. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 8,300 shares in the company, valued at $184,011. The trade was a 40.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 13,908 shares of company stock valued at $307,759 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 24,855 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $574,000 after buying an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 751 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,547 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 1,126 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 103,390 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,387,000 after buying an additional 1,610 shares in the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is currently 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.