Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Hits New 12-Month High Following Insider Buying Activity

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $48.63 and last traded at $48.4580, with a volume of 57680 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $48.12.

Specifically, Director Frederick A. Forthuber bought 5,140 shares of Western Midstream Partners stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $48.62 per share, with a total value of $249,906.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,140 shares in the company, valued at $249,906.80. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WES shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $46.00 target price on Western Midstream Partners and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. US Capital Advisors raised Western Midstream Partners from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Western Midstream Partners from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $51.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.00.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $19.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50 day moving average is $45.28 and its 200-day moving average is $43.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34.

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

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Western Midstream Partners

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WES. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 35,074,357 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,385,437,000 after buying an additional 299,631 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 0.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,292,437 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $954,450,000 after acquiring an additional 81,183 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,562,213 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $377,707,000 after acquiring an additional 936,376 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. raised its holdings 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 worth $337,297,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163,991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 98.1% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,446,475 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $215,136,000 after acquiring an additional 2,696,439 shares during the last quarter. 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.