Analysts Set Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) Price Target at $41.71

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.7143.

WES has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

Shares of WES opened at $41.82 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $41.49 and its 200-day moving average is $39.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $16.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94 and a beta of 0.76. Western Midstream Partners has a fifty-two week low of $33.60 and a fifty-two week high of $44.74.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Western Midstream Partners will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.7%. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is presently 121.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Midstream Partners news, Director Robert G. Phillips bought 1,250 shares of Western Midstream Partners stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $40.19 per share, for a total transaction of $50,237.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $212,846.24. The trade was a 30.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Christopher B. Dial sold 5,879 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.35, for a total transaction of $248,975.65. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 76.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 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.