Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $48.55 and last traded at $48.5470, with a volume of 81350 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.93.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WES shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Western Midstream Partners from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. US Capital Advisors raised Western Midstream Partners from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on 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 investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Midstream Partners presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.25.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Up 0.9%

The business’s 50-day moving average is $44.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 121.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WES. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at about $200,000. Novem Group lifted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 1.9% in the second quarter. Novem Group now owns 15,843 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $693,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 3.4% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 11,042 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Evanson Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the second quarter valued at approximately $792,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 12.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 66,584 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,741,000 after buying an additional 7,611 shares during the period. 84.82% of the stock is currently owned by 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.