Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Westlake Chemical Partners from Hold to Buy. Overall analyst sentiment is Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $26; another firm maintains a Buy rating while Weiss Ratings has a Hold.
• Quarterly EPS was $0.46, beating the $0.30 consensus estimate, but revenue of $314.46 million fell short of the $336.33 million forecast.
• Shares opened at $21.21 and were down 0.6%; institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.28% of the stock.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WLKP. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $26.00.

Westlake Chemical Partners Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:WLKP opened at $21.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.44, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Westlake Chemical Partners has a 1-year low of $17.75 and a 1-year high of $23.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $747.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.70, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.51. The business's 50-day moving average price is $21.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.00.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $314.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.33 million. Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 7.51% and a net margin of 4.77%. On average, equities analysts expect that Westlake Chemical Partners will post 1.50 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake Chemical Partners

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 9.1% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,874 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. raised its position in Westlake Chemical Partners by 5.0% during the third quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 21,408 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $454,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC raised its position in Westlake Chemical Partners by 10.0% during the third quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 12,760 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. Arrow Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 17.1% in the third quarter. Arrow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,639 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 36.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,582 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 2,833 shares during the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westlake Chemical Partners Company Profile

Westlake Chemical Partners LP NYSE: WLKP is a master limited partnership that owns, operates and acquires ethylene production assets. Ethylene is a basic petrochemical used in the manufacture of plastics, polymers and other industrial products.

The partnership's operations are focused on ethylene production facilities in the United States, including assets in Louisiana and Kentucky. Its ethylene is sold primarily under long-term agreements to Westlake Corporation, its primary customer and sponsor, as well as to certain third-party customers.

Westlake Chemical Partners was formed in 2014 and became a publicly traded partnership that year.

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