Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.1667.

A number of research analysts have commented on WES shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

Shares of Western Midstream Partners stock opened at $41.14 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71 and a beta of 0.77. Western Midstream Partners has a 12-month low of $33.60 and a 12-month high of $44.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.42.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.44). The firm 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 business’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Western Midstream Partners will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Midstream Partners

In related news, SVP Christopher B. Dial sold 5,879 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.35, for a total transaction of $248,975.65. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 185,011 shares in the company, valued at $7,835,215.85. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Midstream Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 35,571 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 7,104 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter worth $156,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 36,140 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,428,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 58,973 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,329,000 after purchasing an additional 3,415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 236,768 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $9,352,000 after purchasing an additional 45,930 shares in the last quarter. 84.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.