Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Sets New 12-Month High at $35.39

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $35.39 and last traded at $35.37, with a volume of 222116 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.14.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $30.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Citigroup cut shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $34.00 in a research report 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.75.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $31.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.09. The company has a market capitalization of $13.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.52 and a beta of 2.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.04). Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 33.58% and a net margin of 32.72%. The company had revenue of $858.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $850.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. Western Midstream Partners’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 1st were issued a dividend of $0.575 per share. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 31st. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WES. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC acquired a new stake in Western Midstream Partners during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Retirement Group LLC raised its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 52.4% in the 2nd quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors own 42.94% of the company’s stock.

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.