Advisors Asset Management Inc. Increases Stake in Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 157,099 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,023 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Western Midstream Partners were worth $6,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 2,725.4% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 367,330 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $15,046,000 after purchasing an additional 354,329 shares during the period. Quantum Financial Planning Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $310,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 509,737 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $20,879,000 after acquiring an additional 13,269 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 472,420 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $18,283,000 after acquiring an additional 11,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 258,794 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $10,600,000 after acquiring an additional 31,687 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

NYSE:WES opened at $39.07 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $38.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 1-year low of $33.60 and a 1-year high of $43.33.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.87. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 34.45% and a return on equity of 37.70%. The firm had revenue of $952.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $965.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.3%. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is currently 107.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $43.00 price objective on Western Midstream Partners in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Midstream Partners currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.00.

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.