Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Stock Rating Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

WLKP has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings cut Westlake Chemical Partners from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Westlake Chemical Partners in a 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake Chemical Partners has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.00.

Westlake Chemical Partners Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Westlake Chemical Partners stock opened at $21.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 3.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $21.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.00. Westlake Chemical Partners has a 1 year low of $17.75 and a 1 year high of $23.88. The stock has a market cap of $747.76 million, a PE ratio of 12.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.51.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $314.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.33 million. Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 7.55%. Equities research analysts predict that Westlake Chemical Partners will post 1.50 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a $0.4714 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.9%. Westlake Chemical Partners’s dividend payout ratio is 113.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake Chemical Partners

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Arrow Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. raised its holdings in Westlake Chemical Partners by 5.0% in 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 period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in Westlake Chemical Partners by 5.9% during the third 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 in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners during the second quarter worth approximately $867,000. 78.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Westlake Chemical Partners

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.