Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) Receives $41.71 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.7143.

Several research firms have recently commented on WES. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 20th.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

Shares of WES opened at $41.37 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.28 billion, a PE ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $41.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Western Midstream Partners has a 12-month low of $33.60 and a 12-month high of $44.74.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.44). The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 30.52% and a return on equity of 33.14%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Midstream Partners news, SVP Christopher B. Dial sold 5,879 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.35, for a total value of $248,975.65. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 185,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,835,215.85. This trade represents a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert G. Phillips purchased 1,250 shares of Western Midstream Partners stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $40.19 per share, with a total value of $50,237.50. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,846.24. This trade 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.

Institutional Trading of Western Midstream Partners

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WES. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 35,074,357 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,385,437,000 after purchasing an additional 299,631 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Western Midstream Partners by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,292,437 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $954,450,000 after purchasing an additional 81,183 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,562,213 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $377,707,000 after purchasing an additional 936,376 shares during the period. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. increased 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 purchasing an additional 1,163,991 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the third quarter valued at approximately $300,257,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

Western Midstream Partners Company 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.