Van ECK Associates Corp Trims Stock Holdings in Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

Van ECK Associates Corp lowered its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) by 18.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 63,189 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 14,114 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Western Midstream Partners were worth $2,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WES. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC boosted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 843.0% in the fourth quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 943 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on WES. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.12.

Insider Activity at Western Midstream Partners

In other Western Midstream Partners news, Director Frederick Forthuber purchased 5,140 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $48.62 per share, for a total transaction of $249,906.80. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 5,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $249,906.80. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

NYSE:WES opened at $49.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $20.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $46.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.08. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 1-year low of $36.90 and a 1-year high of $50.07.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 29.44% and a return on equity of 33.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.6%. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.98%.

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.