Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $48.55 and last traded at $48.5470, with a volume of 81350 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $47.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WES has been the subject of several recent research reports. US Capital Advisors upgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $46.00 price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $51.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.25.

Western Midstream Partners Trading Down 0.7%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34. The firm has a market cap of $18.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50 day moving average of $44.67 and a 200 day moving average of $42.68.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.11. Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 33.89% and a net margin of 29.98%.The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.8%. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is 121.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WES. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Western Midstream Partners in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 76.2% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 793 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Glen Eagle Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 843.0% during the fourth quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 943 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

Western Midstream Partners Company Profile

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.