Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Share Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $38.83 and traded as high as $39.81. Western Midstream Partners shares last traded at $39.8840, with a volume of 352,042 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WES. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $43.00 price target on Western Midstream Partners in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Western Midstream Partners in a research report on Monday, October 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Midstream Partners has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.50.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $38.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.83. The stock has a market cap of $16.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 0.76.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.87. Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 39.37% and a net margin of 35.18%.The company had revenue of $952.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $965.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is 107.69%.

Institutional Trading of Western Midstream Partners

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WES. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 98,819 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 81,183 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 1.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,658,988 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $354,672,000 after buying an additional 149,833 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the third quarter valued at approximately $300,257,000. Finally, Chickasaw Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 6,794,472 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $262,946,000 after buying an additional 72,459 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

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.