Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.51 EPS

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.51), Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 35.18% and a return on equity of 39.37%.

Western Midstream Partners Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:WES traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,079,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,279,816. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.32. Western Midstream Partners has a fifty-two week low of $33.60 and a fifty-two week high of $44.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is currently 107.69%.

Insider Transactions at Western Midstream Partners

In other Western Midstream Partners news, SVP Christopher B. Dial sold 5,879 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.35, for a total transaction of $248,975.65. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 185,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,835,215.85. This represents a 3.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WES. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 98.1% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,446,475 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $215,136,000 after purchasing an additional 2,696,439 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 106.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,005,252 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $118,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552,401 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 8,539,175 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $337,297,000 after buying an additional 1,163,991 shares in the last quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON grew its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 621.9% during the fourth quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 680,884 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $26,895,000 after buying an additional 586,568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,872,394 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $73,566,000 after acquiring an additional 445,663 shares during the last quarter. 84.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on WES. Stifel Nicolaus set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.33.

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.