Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $47.04 and last traded at $47.1440, with a volume of 459545 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.03.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WES shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on 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. reduced their target price 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $46.00 price objective on Western Midstream Partners and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $18.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 29.98% and a return on equity of 33.89%. The company’s revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. 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. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.9%. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 121.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert G. Phillips bought 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $40.19 per share, with a total value of $50,237.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $212,846.24. This trade represents a 30.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 35,074,357 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,385,437,000 after purchasing an additional 299,631 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 0.3% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Western Midstream Partners by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,562,213 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $377,707,000 after buying an additional 936,376 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. increased 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 acquiring an additional 1,163,991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the third quarter valued at approximately $300,257,000. 84.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Midstream Partners Company 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.