Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Westlake Chemical Partners currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Westlake Chemical Partners Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:WLKP opened at $21.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 2.74. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.44. Westlake Chemical Partners has a fifty-two week low of $17.75 and a fifty-two week high of $23.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $770.60 million, a PE ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.58.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $323.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.00 million. Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 4.17%. Sell-side analysts expect that Westlake Chemical Partners will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake Chemical Partners

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. ING Groep NV boosted its position in Westlake Chemical Partners by 152.4% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 53,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 32,000 shares during the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 104.2% in the third quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 77,442 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,626,000 after purchasing an additional 39,519 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 2.4% in the second quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 105,907 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,339,000 after purchasing an additional 2,517 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the fourth quarter worth $224,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Westlake Chemical Partners by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,749 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

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.