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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Westlake Chemical Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating, impacting investor sentiment positively.
• In its most recent earnings report, Westlake Chemical Partners missed analysts' expectations for earnings per share, reporting $0.41 against a consensus estimate of $0.44.
• Insider transactions revealed that Chairman James Chao sold 5,608 shares, indicating a 40.32% decrease in his ownership of the stock.

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

Westlake Chemical Partners Price Performance

Shares of WLKP stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $22.22. The stock had a trading volume of 22,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,118. Westlake Chemical Partners has a one year low of $21.19 and a one year high of $25.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 2.10. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $22.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $782.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 0.78.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 6.38% and a net margin of 4.78%.The firm had revenue of $297.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $301.00 million. Equities analysts forecast that Westlake Chemical Partners will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jean-Marc Gilson acquired 1,250 shares of Westlake Chemical Partners stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $21.86 per share, with a total value of $27,325.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at $228,611.88. The trade was a 13.58% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake Chemical Partners

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Energy Income Partners LLC increased its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 1.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 24,459 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $12,899,000 after buying an additional 32,863 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 3.8% during 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 buying an additional 8,424 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 2.4% during 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 purchased a new position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,856,000. 78.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.