Brokerages Set Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) PT at $37.88

Shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the ten research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.88.

Several analysts have commented on WES shares. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com lowered Western Midstream Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America started coverage on Western Midstream Partners in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

WES opened at $40.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $38.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. Western Midstream Partners has a 1 year low of $26.81 and a 1 year high of $42.80. The stock has a market cap of $15.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 2.88.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $883.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.83 million. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 42.99% and a return on equity of 46.02%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $0.875 dividend. This represents a $3.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Western Midstream Partners by 287.3% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,437 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares in 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. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the second quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 16.1% in the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the third quarter worth $86,000. Institutional investors 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.