Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

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

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold”.

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Performance

NYSE WLKP opened at $21.86 on Friday. Westlake Chemical Partners has a fifty-two week low of $17.75 and a fifty-two week high of $23.82. The company has a market cap of $770.60 million, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 2.80. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $21.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.43.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $323.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 predict that Westlake Chemical Partners will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $0.4714 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.6%. Westlake Chemical Partners’s payout ratio is 136.96%.

Institutional Trading of Westlake Chemical Partners

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 142.9% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,302 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 3,708 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,749 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the 4th quarter worth approximately $173,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 45.8% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 10,153 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 3,187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the 4th quarter worth $224,000. Institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Chemical Partners Company Profile

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.