Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Raises Stock Position in Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) by 12.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 222,847 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,898 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned 0.05% of Western Midstream Partners worth $8,802,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 76.2% in 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 last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates purchased a new stake in Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 86.1% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 908 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WES. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. US Capital Advisors upgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Midstream Partners currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.75.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Down 0.7%

WES opened at $43.63 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 1-year low of $36.90 and a 1-year high of $48.01. The company has a market capitalization of $17.18 billion, a PE ratio of 14.26, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.65.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.11. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 29.98% and a return on equity of 33.89%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This is a positive change from Western Midstream Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is 121.57%.

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.