Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) have been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the ten research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.88.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WES. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Western Midstream Partners in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered Western Midstream Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $42.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th.

Western Midstream Partners Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE WES opened at $39.13 on Friday. Western Midstream Partners has a one year low of $27.49 and a one year high of $42.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $14.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 2.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $38.51 and its 200-day moving average is $39.00.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $883.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.83 million. Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 46.02% and a net margin of 42.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $0.875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $3.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.94%. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is 89.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 23.5% in the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 6,228,448 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $238,300,000 after buying an additional 1,184,597 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 6,986.8% during the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 708,683 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $27,114,000 after purchasing an additional 698,683 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 60.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,785,105 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $68,298,000 after purchasing an additional 670,440 shares during the period. ING Groep NV boosted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 81.0% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 746,587 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $28,564,000 after purchasing an additional 334,187 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 322.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 406,587 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $15,556,000 after purchasing an additional 310,260 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.82% 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.