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

Key Points

• Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a change in analysts' outlook on the stock.
• The company's recent earnings report showed a miss on expectations, with earnings per share at $0.41 compared to an estimate of $0.44, alongside a revenue of $297.12 million against a forecast of $301 million.
• Insider activity noted that Chairman James Chao sold 5,608 shares, reducing his ownership by over 40%, which may signal a lack of confidence in the company’s near-term performance.

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

Westlake Chemical Partners Price Performance

Westlake Chemical Partners stock traded up $0.1210 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $21.9410. 20,615 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 34,225. The firm has a market cap of $773.20 million, a P/E ratio of 14.78 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $22.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.83. Westlake Chemical Partners has a 1-year low of $21.19 and a 1-year high of $25.04.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The business 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, analysts forecast that Westlake Chemical Partners will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a $0.4714 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.89 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.6%. Westlake Chemical Partners's payout ratio is currently 126.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman James Chao sold 5,608 shares of Westlake Chemical Partners 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 of the company's stock, valued at $184,011. The trade was a 40.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,908 shares of company stock valued at $307,759. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake Chemical Partners

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WLKP. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 35,136 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 4,253 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the fourth quarter worth about $456,000. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in the fourth quarter worth about $175,000. Eagle Global Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Global Advisors LLC now owns 45,873 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,062,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 558,919 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $12,933,000 after buying an additional 28,430 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.28% of the company's stock.

About Westlake Chemical Partners

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.