Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $30.75.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WES. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Citigroup lowered Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

Shares of WES stock opened at $34.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $13.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.17 and a beta of 2.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $33.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.93. Western Midstream Partners has a one year low of $24.89 and a one year high of $36.79.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.04). Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 33.58% and a net margin of 32.72%. The firm had revenue of $858.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $850.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Western Midstream Partners will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 1st were paid a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 31st. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is currently 88.46%.

Insider Activity at Western Midstream Partners

In other news, Director Kenneth F. Owen bought 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $33.96 per share, with a total value of $237,720.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 32,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,111,510.80. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Kenneth F. Owen purchased 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $33.96 per share, for a total transaction of $237,720.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 32,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,111,510.80. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lisa A. Stewart acquired 2,500 shares of Western Midstream Partners stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $34.87 per share, for a total transaction of $87,175.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares in the company, valued at $1,071,555.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 13.0% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 33,519,544 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $912,737,000 after purchasing an additional 3,855,558 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Western Midstream Partners by 13.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,746,835 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $564,936,000 after acquiring an additional 2,520,712 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,140,481 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $325,970,000 after purchasing an additional 302,681 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,280,595 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $183,770,000 after purchasing an additional 802,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 14.2% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,012,565 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $126,417,000 after purchasing an additional 623,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.94% of the company’s stock.

Western Midstream Partners Company Profile

Western Midstream Partners, LP, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a midstream energy company primarily in the United States. It is involved in gathering, compressing, treating, processing, and transporting natural gas; gathering, stabilizing, and transporting condensate, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and crude oil; and gathering and disposing produced water.