Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 138,109 Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 138,109 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,455,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Americana Partners LLC increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 161,047 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $6,361,000 after purchasing an additional 13,406 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 183.3% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 5,241 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 3,391 shares during the period. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 99,699 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,938,000 after acquiring an additional 23,550 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 9,681 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,662 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares during the period. 84.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Western Midstream Partners news, Director Robert G. Phillips acquired 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $40.19 per share, with a total value of $50,237.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,846.24. The trade was a 30.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WES shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $46.00 price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.25.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

Shares of WES stock opened at $46.25 on Tuesday. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a one year low of $36.90 and a one year high of $48.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11 and a beta of 0.70.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.11. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 29.98% and a return on equity of 33.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. Western Midstream Partners’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.0%. This is a positive change from Western Midstream Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.57%.

Western Midstream Partners Profile

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.