Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Sets New 12-Month High at $35.39

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $35.39 and last traded at $35.37, with a volume of 222116 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $35.14.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on WES. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Bank of America lowered shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $30.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. Citigroup lowered shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Midstream Partners currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.75.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.52 and a beta of 2.83.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $858.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $850.23 million. Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 33.58% and a net margin of 32.72%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. Research analysts expect that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 1st were paid a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 31st. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio is 88.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lisa A. Stewart bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $34.87 per share, with a total value of $87,175.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 30,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,071,555.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Lisa A. Stewart acquired 2,500 shares of Western Midstream Partners stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $34.87 per share, for a total transaction of $87,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 30,730 shares in the company, valued at $1,071,555.10. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth F. Owen purchased 7,000 shares of Western Midstream Partners stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $33.96 per share, with a total value of $237,720.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,730 shares in the company, valued at $1,111,510.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 11,853 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 30.3% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 67,177 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,694,000 after buying an additional 15,616 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 261,945 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $6,606,000 after buying an additional 25,249 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 9,492 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Western Midstream Partners by 14.0% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,108,739 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $27,962,000 after acquiring an additional 136,334 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.94% of the company’s stock.

About Western Midstream Partners

Western Midstream Partners, LP, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a midstream energy company primarily in the United States. It is involved in gathering, compressing, treating, processing, and transporting natural gas; gathering, stabilizing, and transporting condensate, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and crude oil; and gathering and disposing produced water.