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

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

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued 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, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of WLKP stock opened at $21.86 on Friday. Westlake Chemical Partners has a 12 month low of $17.75 and a 12 month high of $23.82. The firm has a market cap of $770.60 million, a PE ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $21.71 and a 200-day moving average of $20.42. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last posted 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). Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 4.17% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The business had revenue of $323.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.00 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Westlake Chemical Partners will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Westlake Chemical Partners by 3.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 228,885 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,285,000 after purchasing an additional 8,424 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Westlake Chemical Partners by 6.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 32,863 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $387,000. Energy Income Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 1,774,544 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,200,000 after buying an additional 24,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 37,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $815,000 after buying an additional 6,000 shares in 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.