Castleark Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

Castleark Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) by 63.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,390 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 22,810 shares during the quarter. Castleark Management LLC’s holdings in Western Midstream Partners were worth $551,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in Western Midstream Partners during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 76.2% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 793 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Western Midstream Partners during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Glen Eagle Advisors LLC raised its position in Western Midstream Partners by 843.0% during the fourth quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 943 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the period. 84.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WES. Citigroup lifted their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.25.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

Shares of WES stock opened at $46.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $44.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.75. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 52-week low of $36.90 and a 52-week high of $48.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.68.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. Western Midstream Partners’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.0%. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 121.57%.

Western Midstream Partners 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.