Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $49.89 According to Analysts

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $49.89.

WES has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of Western Midstream Partners stock opened at $45.55 on Friday. Western Midstream Partners has a 52-week low of $36.90 and a 52-week high of $50.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $47.49 and a 200 day moving average of $44.88. 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 company has a market capitalization of $18.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.74.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 29.44% and a return on equity of 33.13%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Frederick Forthuber acquired 5,140 shares of Western Midstream Partners stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $48.62 per share, for a total transaction of $249,906.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,906.80. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the second quarter worth about $41,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 209.4% during the second quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 1,835 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at about $132,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 126.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,587 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. 84.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Midstream Partners Company Profile

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE: WES) is a publicly traded master limited partnership that owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure in the United States. The company provides services that connect oil and natural gas production with processing facilities, pipelines, storage systems and end markets.

Its operations include the gathering, processing, treating, transportation and storage of natural gas, natural gas liquids and crude oil. Western Midstream also provides gathering and disposal services for produced water, a byproduct of oil and gas production.