Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) Short Interest Down 16.2% in December

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,180,000 shares, a decline of 16.2% from the November 30th total of 6,180,000 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,200,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on WES. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Western Midstream Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Western Midstream Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, US Capital Advisors raised shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Midstream Partners presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.88.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

WES stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $39.13. 609,366 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,238,823. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Western Midstream Partners has a 12-month low of $27.49 and a 12-month high of $42.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $38.51 and its 200 day moving average is $39.00. The company has a market cap of $14.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 2.90.

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

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $0.875 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 89.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 5.8% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 6.2% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,053 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 22,508 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $894,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Albert D Mason Inc. lifted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 49,261 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,885,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. 84.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.