Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday, Zacks reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 17th. UBS Group increased their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Midstream Partners has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.89.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Down 0.0%

Western Midstream Partners stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $39.84. The stock had a trading volume of 1,803,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,306,471. Western Midstream Partners has a 12 month low of $37.75 and a 12 month high of $50.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market cap of $16.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $45.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.16.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.14). Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 29.44% and a return on equity of 33.13%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Western Midstream Partners will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Frederick Forthuber bought 5,140 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $48.62 per share, for a total transaction of $249,906.80. Following the purchase, the director owned 5,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,906.80. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WES. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 37,364,470 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,657,862,000 after buying an additional 734,870 shares in the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 3.7% in the third quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 1,710,098 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $75,877,000 after acquiring an additional 61,156 shares during the last quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT increased its position in Western Midstream Partners by 5.6% in the third quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 1,330,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $59,052,000 after buying an additional 71,000 shares during the last quarter. Berkley W R Corp grew its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 42.8% during the 1st quarter. Berkley W R Corp now owns 1,266,970 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $52,161,000 after acquiring an additional 379,807 shares during the period. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,234,879 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $50,840,000 after acquiring an additional 77,202 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, L.P. (NYSE:WES) is a master limited partnership that owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure in the United States. The company provides gathering, processing, transportation, storage and treating services for natural gas, crude oil, natural gas liquids and produced water.

Western Midstream’s assets include gathering systems, processing plants, pipelines, storage facilities and water-handling infrastructure. These facilities connect oil and gas producers with downstream markets and are generally supported by long-term commercial arrangements.