Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Strong-Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Friday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $42.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $36.75.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

WES opened at $39.83 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The stock has a market cap of $15.15 billion, a PE ratio of 11.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.87. Western Midstream Partners has a 1 year low of $26.49 and a 1 year high of $42.80.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $905.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $904.94 million. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 44.01% and a return on equity of 47.19%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners will post 4.16 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a $0.875 dividend. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.79%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is presently 98.59%.

Insider Transactions at Western Midstream Partners

In related news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 165,681,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,923,116,413.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Midstream Partners

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WES. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. American National Bank raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Group LLC raised its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 40.2% during the first quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 1,591 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the second quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the second quarter valued at approximately $78,000. 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.