JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Position in Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lessened its position in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) by 22.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,452,851 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 410,416 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Western Midstream Partners were worth $57,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 86.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 908 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in Western Midstream Partners in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in Western Midstream Partners in the second quarter worth approximately $43,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the third quarter worth approximately $55,000. Institutional investors own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

Shares of Western Midstream Partners stock opened at $41.37 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.73. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 12-month low of $33.60 and a 12-month high of $44.74. The firm has a market cap of $16.28 billion, a PE ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company 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, equities analysts expect that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.8%. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is 121.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Midstream Partners news, SVP Christopher B. Dial sold 5,879 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,835,215.85. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert G. Phillips acquired 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $40.19 per share, with a total value of $50,237.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $212,846.24. This represents a 30.89% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on WES. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Wall Street Zen cut Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.71.

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.