Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $41.7143.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WES. Wall Street Zen lowered Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th.

Western Midstream Partners Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of WES opened at $41.03 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.70. The company has a market cap of $16.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.68 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. Western Midstream Partners has a twelve month low of $33.60 and a twelve month high of $44.74.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.44). The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 30.52% and a return on equity of 33.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Western Midstream Partners will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is 121.33%.

Insider Transactions at Western Midstream Partners

In related news, SVP Christopher B. Dial sold 5,879 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.35, for a total value of $248,975.65. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 185,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,835,215.85. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert G. Phillips acquired 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $40.19 per share, for a total transaction of $50,237.50. Following the purchase, the director owned 5,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $212,846.24. This represents a 30.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Financial Services LTD. grew its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 10,947 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 30,784 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,218,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 45,995 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,817,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 8,540 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $337,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 15,453 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $610,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. 84.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Western Midstream Partners

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE: WES) is a midstream energy infrastructure company that owns, operates and develops an integrated network of crude oil, natural gas and produced water gathering, processing, transportation and storage assets in the United States. The partnership’s primary offerings include pipeline transportation, fractionation services, natural gas liquids (NGL) logistics and produced water handling. Through its fee-based and commodity-based contracts, Western Midstream provides its customers with essential services that support efficient energy production and distribution.

The company’s asset portfolio spans key onshore basins, including the Delaware Basin in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, the San Juan Basin in New Mexico and Colorado, and the Denver-Julesburg Basin in Colorado.