Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Strong-Buy” Rating

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

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Westlake Chemical Partners Price Performance

Shares of 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 has a 50-day moving average of $21.71 and a 200-day moving average of $20.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $770.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.58. Westlake Chemical Partners has a fifty-two week low of $17.75 and a fifty-two week high of $23.82.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.01). Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 4.17%.The company had revenue of $323.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Energy Income Partners LLC grew its holdings in Westlake Chemical Partners by 1.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 24,459 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 633,569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,038,000 after buying an additional 147,687 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake 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 valued at $12,899,000 after buying an additional 32,863 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 520,388 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,887,000 after buying an additional 57,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 1.3% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 255,275 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,358,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.