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

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

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

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Performance

WLKP opened at $20.80 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.55. Westlake Chemical Partners has a 52-week low of $17.75 and a 52-week high of $25.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a current ratio of 2.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $733.13 million, a PE ratio of 14.86, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.59.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 4.34% and a return on equity of 6.00%. The company had revenue of $308.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $303.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Westlake Chemical Partners will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake Chemical Partners

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 45.8% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 10,153 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 3,187 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at about $387,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Westlake Chemical Partners by 4.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 751 shares during the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.