Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $44.78 and last traded at $44.6380, with a volume of 1192437 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $43.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WES shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Midstream Partners currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.00.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $18.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $41.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.67.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. 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 dividend yield of 8.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 1st. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 121.57%.

Insider Activity at Western Midstream Partners

In related news, Director Robert G. Phillips purchased 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $40.19 per share, for a total transaction of $50,237.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 5,296 shares in the company, valued at $212,846.24. This trade represents a 30.89% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Midstream Partners

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 35,074,357 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,385,437,000 after purchasing an additional 299,631 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,292,437 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $954,450,000 after purchasing an additional 81,183 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,562,213 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $377,707,000 after purchasing an additional 936,376 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 15.8% during 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. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 3rd quarter valued at about $300,257,000. 84.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.