Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the nine analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $45.00.

WES has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Mizuho began coverage on Western Midstream Partners in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $46.00 price target on Western Midstream Partners and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target 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.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

Shares of Western Midstream Partners stock opened at $43.12 on Thursday. Western Midstream Partners has a twelve month low of $36.90 and a twelve month high of $48.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.68.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This is a positive change from Western Midstream Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.6%. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WES. Howard Financial Services LTD. boosted its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 10,947 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $432,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 30,784 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,218,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in Western Midstream Partners by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 45,995 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,817,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Western Midstream Partners by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 8,540 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 15,453 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. 84.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.