Frederick Forthuber Purchases 5,140 Shares of Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Stock

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) Director Frederick Forthuber purchased 5,140 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $48.62 per share, with a total value of $249,906.80. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $249,906.80. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Western Midstream Partners Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:WES opened at $48.36 on Friday. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 52 week low of $36.90 and a 52 week high of $48.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $45.28 and its 200-day moving average is $43.31. The firm has a market cap of $19.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.68.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.08. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 29.44% and a return on equity of 34.79%. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. Western Midstream Partners’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is currently 116.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 98.1% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,446,475 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $215,136,000 after purchasing an additional 2,696,439 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 106.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,005,252 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $118,707,000 after buying an additional 1,552,401 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. raised its position in Western Midstream Partners by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 8,539,175 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $337,297,000 after buying an additional 1,163,991 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Western Midstream Partners by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,562,213 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $377,707,000 after buying an additional 936,376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in Western Midstream Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $28,268,000. Institutional investors own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WES has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upgraded Western Midstream Partners from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $51.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, US Capital Advisors upgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.00.

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.