Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Has $11.21 Million Stock Holdings in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. trimmed its position in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) by 14.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 383,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 64,000 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned 0.10% of Western Midstream Partners worth $11,207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 26,363 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $725,000 after buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance grew its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 12,848 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 30,078 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $819,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. 42.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Midstream Partners

In other news, Director Lisa A. Stewart bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $34.87 per share, for a total transaction of $87,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 30,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,071,555.10. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Lisa A. Stewart acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $34.87 per share, for a total transaction of $87,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,071,555.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth F. Owen acquired 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $33.96 per share, with a total value of $237,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,111,510.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

Western Midstream Partners stock opened at $34.08 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The company has a market capitalization of $12.97 billion, a PE ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 2.83. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 12 month low of $24.89 and a 12 month high of $36.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.55.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $858.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $850.23 million. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 32.72% and a return on equity of 33.58%. Western Midstream Partners’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.47 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a $0.875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. This is an increase from Western Midstream Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.27%. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WES has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Wolfe Research raised Western Midstream Partners from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup lowered Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.64.

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.