Stifel Nicolaus Lowers Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Price Target to $42.00

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) had its price target reduced by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $43.00 to $42.00 in a research report issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 2.02% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on WES. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Wall Street Zen cut Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Midstream Partners has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.17.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

NYSE WES traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $41.17. 84,004 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,361,626. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.36. Western Midstream Partners has a 1 year low of $33.60 and a 1 year high of $44.74. The company has a market cap of $16.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 0.77.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.44). The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 30.52% and a return on equity of 35.21%. Western Midstream Partners’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Western Midstream Partners will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Midstream Partners

In related news, SVP Christopher B. Dial sold 5,879 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.35, for a total value of $248,975.65. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 185,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,835,215.85. This trade represents a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 0.9% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 0.3% in 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 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 valued at $377,707,000 after purchasing an additional 936,376 shares during the period. 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 purchasing an additional 1,163,991 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the 3rd quarter worth about $300,257,000. Institutional investors own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

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.