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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) from "strong-buy" to "buy," while Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)," leaving the MarketBeat consensus as "Hold."
• WLKP reported Q4 EPS of $0.41 (missing estimates by $0.01) with revenue of $323.05M (above expectations); the stock traded around $22.13 (down ~2.6%), with a market cap of ~$780M and a P/E of 16.04.
• Institutional investors own ~78.3% of the company, and several funds recently increased or initiated positions in the stock.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed 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, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake Chemical Partners presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Down 2.6%

WLKP stock opened at $22.13 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $20.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $780.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.58. Westlake Chemical Partners has a fifty-two week low of $17.75 and a fifty-two week high of $24.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a current ratio of 2.80.

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

Institutional Trading of Westlake Chemical Partners

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 142.9% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,302 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $120,000 after buying an additional 3,708 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Westlake Chemical Partners by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,749 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new stake in Westlake Chemical Partners in the fourth quarter valued at $173,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 45.8% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 10,153 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 3,187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners in the fourth quarter valued at $224,000. 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.

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