In a report released yesterday, Robert Balsamo from B.Riley FBR maintained a Hold rating on Westlake Chemical PRN (NYSE: WLKP), with a price target of $26. The company’s shares opened today at $27.50, close to its 52-week high of $27.75.
Balsamo commented:
“1Q18 distributable cash flow of $16.0M was ~11% above B. Riley FBR est of $14.4M driven by increased production at OpCo and partially offset by lower margins at OpCo’s third party sales volumes. DCF was also supported by a decrease in maintenance expense vs same period last year. WLKP declared a distribution of $0.4088, which was a 12% increase over 1Q17 and 2.8% increase vs 1Q18. DCF of $16.0M provided 1.21x coverage of the declared distributions. Notably, this coverage also includes the removal of IDR payments after WLKP’s recent amendment to its partnership agreement. Units have performed well this week after announcement of IDR removal and today’s print should only support continued market strength. Management is hosting a conference call at 12pm ET today to discuss results.”
According to TipRanks.com, Balsamo has 0 stars on 0-5 star ranking scale with an average return of -7.0% and a 42.6% success rate. Balsamo covers the Basic Materials sector, focusing on stocks such as EnLink Midstream Partners, EnLink Midstream LLC, and Nustar Energy LP.
Currently, the analyst consensus on Westlake Chemical PRN is a Hold with an average price target of $25.50.
See today’s analyst top recommended stocks >>
The company has a one-year high of $27.75 and a one-year low of $21.10. Currently, Westlake Chemical PRN has an average volume of 78.52K.
TipRanks has tracked 36,000 company insiders and found that a few of them are better than others when it comes to timing their transactions. See which 3 stocks are most likely to make moves following their insider activities.
Westlake Chemical Partners LP engages in the operation, acquisition and development of ethylene production facilities and related assets. It is a vertically-integrated, international manufacturer and marketer of basic chemicals, polymers, and fabricated building products. The company was founded on March 14, 2014 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.
