Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES – Get Rating) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Monday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 26th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $31.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Friday, May 13th. Zacks Investment Research raised Western Midstream Partners from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 26th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group boosted their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $29.00.

Western Midstream Partners stock traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $26.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,207,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,307,672. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $25.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The company has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a PE ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 3.29. Western Midstream Partners has a 12 month low of $17.97 and a 12 month high of $27.29.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 10th. The pipeline company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $758.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $701.95 million. Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 33.05% and a net margin of 34.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 13th. Investors of record on Monday, May 2nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Western Midstream Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 29th. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is 80.32%.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWM LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 126.5% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,606 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.25% of the company’s stock.

Western Midstream Partners Company Profile (Get Rating)

Western Midstream Partners, LP, a midstream energy company, together with its subsidiaries, acquires, owns, develops, and operates 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.

Read More