Brokerages Set Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) PT at $37.88

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) has earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.88.

WES has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America began coverage on Western Midstream Partners in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on 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. Morgan Stanley downgraded 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, US Capital Advisors upgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

Western Midstream Partners stock opened at $39.13 on Friday. Western Midstream Partners has a 52-week low of $27.49 and a 52-week 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $38.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.00. The firm has a market capitalization 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.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $883.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 287.3% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,437 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new stake in Western Midstream Partners in the third quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 63.9% in the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 2,566 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 84.82% of the stock is currently owned by 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.