Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.89.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

NYSE WES opened at $44.60 on Friday. Western Midstream Partners has a one year low of $36.90 and a one year high of $50.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $47.20 and a 200 day moving average of $45.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $18.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.74.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 33.13% and a net margin of 29.44%. Western Midstream Partners’s revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Frederick Forthuber bought 5,140 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $48.62 per share, with a total value of $249,906.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 5,140 shares in the company, valued at $249,906.80. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT lifted its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 1,676,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $69,038,000 after purchasing an additional 136,000 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its position in Western Midstream Partners by 6.3% during the first quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 1,584,975 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $65,253,000 after buying an additional 93,543 shares during the period. Berkley W R Corp grew its position in Western Midstream Partners by 42.8% during the first quarter. Berkley W R Corp now owns 1,266,970 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $52,161,000 after buying an additional 379,807 shares during the period. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Western Midstream Partners by 6.7% during the first quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,234,879 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $50,840,000 after buying an additional 77,202 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Western Midstream Partners by 39.0% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 902,585 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $37,159,000 after buying an additional 253,474 shares during the period. 84.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Western Midstream Partners

Western Midstream Partners, L.P. (NYSE:WES) is a master limited partnership that owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure in the United States. The company provides gathering, processing, transportation, storage and treating services for natural gas, crude oil, natural gas liquids and produced water.

Western Midstream’s assets include gathering systems, processing plants, pipelines, storage facilities and water-handling infrastructure. These facilities connect oil and gas producers with downstream markets and are generally supported by long-term commercial arrangements.