Analysts Set Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) PT at $48.12

Shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $49.25.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WES shares. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research raised Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup upped 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, August 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

Shares of WES stock opened at $48.09 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The firm has a market cap of $19.87 billion, a PE ratio of 15.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.69. Western Midstream Partners has a 12 month low of $36.90 and a 12 month high of $50.07.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.08. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 29.44% and a return on equity of 33.13%. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Western Midstream Partners will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were given 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 was Friday, July 31st. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio is 116.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Frederick Forthuber purchased 5,140 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $48.62 per share, for a total transaction 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 76.2% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 793 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 843.0% in the fourth quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 943 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. 84.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Western Midstream Partners

Western Midstream Partners, L.P. (NYSE:WES) is a publicly traded master limited partnership that owns, operates and develops midstream energy assets. The company provides gathering, processing, treating, compression, transportation and storage services for natural gas, crude oil, natural gas liquids and produced water.

Western Midstream’s infrastructure includes gathering systems, processing plants, pipelines, compressor stations, treatment facilities, storage assets and water-handling systems.