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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has downgraded Westlake Chemical Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating, with Zacks Research also raising it to a "hold" earlier in August.
• Westlake Chemical Partners reported $0.41 EPS for the latest quarter, missing estimates, and generated revenue of $297.12 million, below the $301 million expected by analysts.
• CEO Jean-Marc Gilson recently purchased 1,250 shares of the company stock, increasing his ownership by 13.58%.

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

Separately, Zacks Research raised shares of Westlake Chemical Partners to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake Chemical Partners presently has an average rating of "Hold".

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:WLKP traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $21.77. 20,645 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 34,100. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $22.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Westlake Chemical Partners has a fifty-two week low of $21.26 and a fifty-two week high of $25.04. The firm has a market cap of $767.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.76.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.03). Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 6.38%. The firm had revenue of $297.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $301.00 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Westlake Chemical Partners will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Westlake Chemical Partners

In related news, CEO Jean-Marc Gilson purchased 1,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $21.86 per share, with a total value of $27,325.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,458 shares in the company, valued at $228,611.88. This trade represents a 13.58% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Energy Income Partners LLC raised its holdings in Westlake Chemical Partners by 1.4% in the second quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 1,774,544 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $39,200,000 after purchasing an additional 24,459 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted 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 worth $12,899,000 after acquiring an additional 32,863 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $5,285,000 after acquiring an additional 8,424 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 2.4% in the second quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 105,907 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,339,000 after buying an additional 2,517 shares during the period. Finally, Fractal Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners during the first quarter worth $1,856,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.28% of the company's stock.

Westlake Chemical Partners Company Profile

Westlake Chemical Partners LP acquires, develops, and operates ethylene production facilities and related assets in the United States. The company's ethylene production facilities primarily convert ethane into ethylene. It also sells ethylene co-products, such as propylene, crude butadiene, pyrolysis gasoline, and hydrogen directly to third parties on either a spot or contract basis.