Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at US Capital Advisors

US Capital Advisors upgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) from a moderate buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on WES. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $41.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.75.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

WES stock opened at $42.80 on Friday. Western Midstream Partners has a 1 year low of $36.90 and a 1 year high of $48.01. The company has a market cap of $16.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.99, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.63 and a 200 day moving average of $41.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.11. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 29.98% and a return on equity of 33.89%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This is an increase from Western Midstream Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 121.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert G. Phillips purchased 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $40.19 per share, for a total transaction of $50,237.50. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 5,296 shares in the company, valued at $212,846.24. This trade represents a 30.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Midstream Partners

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 76.2% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 793 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates purchased a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 84.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Western Midstream Partners

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE: WES) is a midstream energy infrastructure company that owns, operates and develops an integrated network of crude oil, natural gas and produced water gathering, processing, transportation and storage assets in the United States. The partnership’s primary offerings include pipeline transportation, fractionation services, natural gas liquids (NGL) logistics and produced water handling. Through its fee-based and commodity-based contracts, Western Midstream provides its customers with essential services that support efficient energy production and distribution.

The company’s asset portfolio spans key onshore basins, including the Delaware Basin in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, the San Juan Basin in New Mexico and Colorado, and the Denver-Julesburg Basin in Colorado.