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

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Westlake Chemical Partners Stock Performance

Shares of WLKP opened at $21.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $764.22 million, a P/E ratio of 13.30, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 3.44 and a quick ratio of 3.36. Westlake Chemical Partners has a one year low of $17.75 and a one year high of $23.88. The business has a fifty day moving average of $22.23 and a 200 day moving average of $22.27.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $297.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $537.00 million. Westlake Chemical Partners had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 7.25%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake Chemical Partners will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Chemical Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.4714 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $1.89 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.7%. Westlake Chemical Partners’s payout ratio is 115.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westlake Chemical Partners

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLKP. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners by 142.9% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,302 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 3,708 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,749 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the period. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners in the 4th quarter worth approximately $173,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Westlake Chemical Partners by 45.8% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 10,153 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 3,187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners in the 4th quarter worth approximately $224,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Chemical Partners Company Profile

Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE: WLKP) is a publicly traded master limited partnership sponsored by Westlake Chemical Corporation. The partnership owns, operates and acquires a portfolio of ethylene and vinyl manufacturing assets throughout the United States and the United Kingdom. As a downstream producer of basic chemicals and intermediates, WLKP supplies key industrial feedstocks to customers in a variety of end markets.

WLKP’s operations are organized into two primary segments: olefins and vinyls.