Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP – Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

WLKP has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.00.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on WLKP

Westlake Chemical Partners Price Performance

Westlake Chemical Partners stock opened at $21.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $742.93 million, a PE ratio of 12.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.51. Westlake Chemical Partners has a 52 week low of $17.75 and a 52 week high of $23.88. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.99. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 3.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $314.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $336.33 million. Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 7.51%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Westlake Chemical Partners will post 1.50 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Westlake Chemical Partners

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arrow Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Arrow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,639 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 21,408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 114,242 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 6,348 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 10.0% during the third quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 12,760 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners during the second quarter worth about $867,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Chemical Partners Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE: WLKP) is a master limited partnership that owns, operates and acquires ethylene production assets. Ethylene is a basic petrochemical used in the manufacture of plastics, polymers and other industrial products.

The partnership’s operations are focused on ethylene production facilities in the United States, including assets in Louisiana and Kentucky. Its ethylene is sold primarily under long-term agreements to Westlake Corporation, its primary customer and sponsor, as well as to certain third-party customers.

Westlake Chemical Partners was formed in 2014 and became a publicly traded partnership that year.

Further Reading

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