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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Westlake Chemical Partners to “hold” from “strong buy,” while Weiss Ratings upgraded it to “buy.” MarketBeat’s overall analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” split between one Buy and one Hold rating.
• WLKP shares opened at $21.74, with a market capitalization of approximately $766 million and a 12-month trading range of $17.75 to $23.88.
• The company slightly missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.40 in EPS versus the $0.41 consensus, while revenue of $297.1 million was below analysts’ $537 million estimate. Institutional investors own 78.28% of the stock.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

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

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Performance

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

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP - Get Free Report) last posted 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). Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 4.66%.The business had revenue of $297.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $537.00 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Westlake Chemical Partners will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake Chemical Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in Westlake Chemical Partners by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 633,569 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $12,038,000 after buying an additional 147,687 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 520,388 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $9,887,000 after buying an additional 57,624 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at $867,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 6.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 32,863 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV grew its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 82,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,558,000 after acquiring an additional 29,000 shares during the period. 78.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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