Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Downgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning.

WES has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered Western Midstream Partners from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $42.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $35.25.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Up 0.7 %

Western Midstream Partners stock opened at $40.06 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $39.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The firm has a market cap of $15.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.88. Western Midstream Partners has a 52 week low of $25.71 and a 52 week high of $42.80.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.09. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 44.01% and a return on equity of 47.19%. The firm had revenue of $905.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $904.94 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $0.875 per share. This represents a $3.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is 98.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $697,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 165,681,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,923,116,413.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. American National Bank raised its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 34.5% during the first quarter. American National Bank now owns 1,190 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Retirement Group LLC boosted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 40.2% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 1,591 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.94% of the company’s stock.

About Western Midstream Partners

Western Midstream Partners, LP, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a midstream energy company primarily in the United States. It is involved in gathering, compressing, treating, processing, and transporting natural gas; gathering, stabilizing, and transporting condensate, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and crude oil; and gathering and disposing produced water.