Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Boosts Stock Holdings in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) by 1,430.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,782 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 8,208 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Western Midstream Partners were worth $336,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,066 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Western Midstream Partners in the 2nd quarter worth $74,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the second quarter worth $78,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 16.1% during the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.94% of the company’s stock.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

Western Midstream Partners stock opened at $39.65 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The stock has a market cap of $15.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.11, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 2.88. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $38.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.72. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 12-month low of $26.81 and a 12-month high of $42.80.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last released its quarterly 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 firm 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $0.875 per share. This represents a $3.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is 89.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WES has been the subject of several research analyst reports. 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. UBS Group reduced their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. 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 for the company. US Capital Advisors raised Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.88.

Western Midstream Partners 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.