Independent Financial Group LLC Takes Position in Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

Independent Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 31,729 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,306,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,525 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 17.0% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,878 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 999 shares in the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 6.0% during the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 23,029 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $891,000 after buying an additional 1,298 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 39.1% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 25,003 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $968,000 after buying an additional 7,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Western Midstream Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,172,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

Shares of WES opened at $46.66 on Tuesday. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 1-year low of $36.90 and a 1-year high of $48.01. The stock has a market cap of $18.37 billion, a PE ratio of 15.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 29.98% and a return on equity of 33.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on WES shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. 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 report on Tuesday, July 14th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $46.00 price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.25.

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.