Kovack Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP)

Kovack Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake Chemical Partners LP (NYSE:WLKP) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 12,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $261,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WLKP. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in Westlake Chemical Partners during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Westlake Chemical Partners by 43.2% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 20,043 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 6,043 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Westlake Chemical Partners by 2,065.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 31,652 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $685,000 after purchasing an additional 30,190 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in Westlake Chemical Partners by 3.5% during the third quarter. Eagle Global Advisors LLC now owns 43,873 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $954,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its position in Westlake Chemical Partners by 9.3% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 537,225 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,685,000 after purchasing an additional 45,515 shares during the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westlake Chemical Partners from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th.

Westlake Chemical Partners Price Performance

WLKP opened at $21.89 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $22.21 and a 200 day moving average of $22.14. The stock has a market cap of $771.18 million, a P/E ratio of 14.21 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 3.94, a current ratio of 4.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Westlake Chemical Partners LP has a 52-week low of $20.86 and a 52-week high of $23.68.

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $297.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.62 million. Westlake Chemical Partners had a return on equity of 6.25% and a net margin of 4.56%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.48 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake Chemical Partners LP will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Westlake Chemical Partners

In other news, SVP Andrew Kenner purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.30 per share, for a total transaction of $111,500.00. Following the purchase, the senior vice president now owns 141,609 shares in the company, valued at $3,157,880.70. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have bought a total of 24,230 shares of company stock valued at $537,587 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.