Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy

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

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

Westlake Chemical Partners Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:WLKP opened at $22.13 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.41. Westlake Chemical Partners has a 1 year low of $17.75 and a 1 year high of $24.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 2.32. The company has a market capitalization of $780.08 million, a P/E ratio of 16.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.58.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $323.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $313.00 million. Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 4.17% and a return on equity of 5.99%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Westlake Chemical Partners will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Westlake Chemical Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 136.96%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake Chemical Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 3,708 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,749 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR bought a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners during the 4th quarter worth $173,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 45.8% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 10,153 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 3,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Westlake Chemical Partners in the fourth quarter valued at about $224,000. 78.28% of the stock is currently 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.