UBS Group Cuts Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Price Target to $37.00

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) had its target price lowered by UBS Group from $40.00 to $37.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Western Midstream Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised 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 note on Friday, August 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.88.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

NYSE:WES opened at $38.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.54 billion, a PE ratio of 9.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.88. Western Midstream Partners has a fifty-two week low of $26.81 and a fifty-two week high of $42.80. The company has a fifty day moving average of $38.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.60.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.09). Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 46.02% and a net margin of 42.99%. The company had revenue of $883.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.83 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $0.875 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.16%. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 16.1% during the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,711 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. increased its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 48,760 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,937,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 6.2% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,053 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 1.9% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 22,508 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $894,000 after buying an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. 42.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.