Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

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

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised Westlake Chemical Partners from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Westlake Chemical Partners Trading Up 0.3%

WLKP opened at $21.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $766.34 million, a PE ratio of 13.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $22.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 3.44 and a quick ratio of 3.57. Westlake Chemical Partners has a 12-month low of $17.75 and a 12-month high of $23.88.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $297.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $537.00 million. Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 4.66%. As a group, research analysts expect that Westlake Chemical Partners will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $0.4714 per share. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th. Westlake Chemical Partners’s payout ratio is 115.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake Chemical Partners

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLKP. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 3.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 228,885 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,285,000 after acquiring an additional 8,424 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 583,932 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,899,000 after purchasing an additional 32,863 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $387,000. 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 purchasing an additional 6,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 3,187 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.