GraniteShares Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

GraniteShares Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 68,222 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,695,000. Western Midstream Partners makes up 2.3% of GraniteShares Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 34,774,726 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,366,299,000 after acquiring an additional 98,819 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 0.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,292,437 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $954,450,000 after purchasing an additional 81,183 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new stake in Western Midstream Partners in the third quarter valued at $300,257,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 31.2% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,872,394 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $73,566,000 after purchasing an additional 445,663 shares during the period. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 0.8% during the third quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 1,480,497 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $58,169,000 after purchasing an additional 11,218 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WES opened at $41.14 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a fifty-two week low of $33.60 and a fifty-two week high of $44.74. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.99.

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

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 121.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on WES shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Midstream Partners

In other news, SVP Christopher B. Dial sold 5,879 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were 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 $7,835,215.85. This represents a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert G. Phillips bought 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $40.19 per share, with a total value of $50,237.50. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $212,846.24. The trade was 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 currently owned by company insiders.

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.