Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES Shares Sold by Heronetta Management L.P.

Heronetta Management L.P. lessened its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 206,361 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 22,225 shares during the quarter. Western Midstream Partners accounts for 5.4% of Heronetta Management L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Heronetta Management L.P.’s holdings in Western Midstream Partners were worth $8,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,292,437 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $954,450,000 after purchasing an additional 81,183 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in Western Midstream Partners during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $300,257,000. UBS Group AG grew its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,501,784 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $138,320,000 after purchasing an additional 165,726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,872,394 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $73,566,000 after purchasing an additional 445,663 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on WES. 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 report on Thursday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $46.00 target price on Western Midstream Partners and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Midstream Partners has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert G. Phillips acquired 1,250 shares of Western Midstream Partners stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $40.19 per share, for a total transaction of $50,237.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $212,846.24. This trade represents a 30.89% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Christopher B. Dial sold 5,879 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.35, for a total value of $248,975.65. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 185,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,835,215.85. This represents a 3.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

Shares of WES opened at $43.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $17.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.48 and a 200-day moving average of $40.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 52 week low of $36.90 and a 52 week high of $44.74.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 33.65% and a net margin of 29.98%.The business’s revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.5%. This is an increase from Western Midstream Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is presently 121.57%.

Western Midstream Partners 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.