Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Given New $39.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) had its target price raised by UBS Group from $38.00 to $39.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. StockNews.com cut shares of Western Midstream Partners from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Western Midstream Partners from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $42.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Midstream Partners presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $36.75.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

Shares of Western Midstream Partners stock opened at $39.63 on Wednesday. Western Midstream Partners has a 1 year low of $26.11 and a 1 year high of $42.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $39.29 and its 200 day moving average is $37.60. The stock has a market cap of $15.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.16, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68.

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

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st were given a dividend of $0.875 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.83%. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Midstream Partners

In other news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of Western Midstream Partners stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $697,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 165,681,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,923,116,413.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Western Midstream Partners during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. American National Bank grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Retirement Group LLC raised its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 40.2% during 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 period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.94% of the company’s stock.

Western Midstream Partners Company Profile

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.