Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $34.00 to $35.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Approximately 3,010,538 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 225% from the previous session’s volume of 926,467 shares.The stock last traded at $26.30 and had previously closed at $26.12.

Several other research firms also recently commented on WES. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday, August 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $29.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.60.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Portside Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the second quarter valued at about $297,000. Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in Western Midstream Partners during the second quarter worth about $44,781,000. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Western Midstream Partners during the second quarter worth about $5,307,000. Retirement Group LLC increased its position in Western Midstream Partners by 52.4% during the second quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Western Midstream Partners during the second quarter worth about $110,000. 42.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Midstream Partners Trading Up 0.3 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $10.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 2.76. The company’s 50-day moving average is $27.28 and its 200-day moving average is $26.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 8th. The pipeline company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.01). Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 34.41% and a net margin of 34.08%. The firm had revenue of $738.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $795.73 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. Western Midstream Partners’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.5625 per share. This represents a $2.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 28th. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 84.27%.

About Western Midstream Partners

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.