Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Sells 1,500 Shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) by 16.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,500 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Western Midstream Partners were worth $219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 1.3% in the second quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 28,365 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $752,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 52.4% in the 2nd quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 1.6% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 26,363 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $725,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 5.2% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 9,492 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 79,999 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,148,000 after buying an additional 492 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Western Midstream Partners

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

Western Midstream Partners Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE WES opened at $35.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 52 week low of $24.89 and a 52 week high of $36.79. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $33.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.12. The company has a market cap of $13.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.61 and a beta of 2.83.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.04). Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 32.72% and a return on equity of 33.58%. The business had revenue of $858.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $850.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a $0.875 dividend. This represents a $3.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This is a positive change from Western Midstream Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 134.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Wolfe Research raised Western Midstream Partners from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup lowered Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $30.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.64.

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.