Berkley W R Corp Takes $34.86 Million Position in Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

Berkley W R Corp acquired a new stake in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 887,163 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,857,000. Western Midstream Partners accounts for 2.0% of Berkley W R Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 86.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 908 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the period. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Western Midstream Partners during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the second quarter worth about $43,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 39.0% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,850 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Midstream Partners

In related news, SVP Christopher B. Dial sold 5,879 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.35, for a total value of $248,975.65. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 185,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,835,215.85. This represents a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert G. Phillips purchased 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $40.19 per share, for a total transaction of $50,237.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 5,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $212,846.24. This represents a 30.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WES. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.71.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Up 0.5%

WES stock opened at $40.85 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $41.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62 and a beta of 0.76. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a fifty-two week low of $33.60 and a fifty-two week high of $44.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.44). Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 33.14% and a net margin of 30.52%.The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 121.33%.

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.