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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Westlake Chemical Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating, indicating increased confidence in the company's future performance.
• The company reported an EPS of $0.41 for the last quarter, which was lower than analysts' expectations of $0.44, highlighting a miss in earnings.
• Institutional investors hold a significant share, with 78.28% of the stock owned by these entities, reflecting strong institutional interest in Westlake Chemical Partners.

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 report issued on Saturday.

Westlake Chemical Partners Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:WLKP traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $22.31. 63,764 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 34,379. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.94. 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 $21.19 and a fifty-two week high of $25.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $786.20 million, a P/E ratio of 14.97 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman James Chao sold 5,608 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.17, for a total value of $124,329.36. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 8,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,011. The trade was a 40.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,908 shares of company stock valued at $307,759. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $175,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the 1st quarter valued at $231,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,547 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 1,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,629 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 751 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 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.