Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Coverage Initiated at Truist Financial

Key Points

• Truist Financial initiated coverage of Western Midstream Partners with a “buy” rating and a $55 price target, implying 17.28% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $49.89; recent target increases came from Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, RBC, Mizuho and Citigroup.
• Western Midstream exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.99 in EPS versus the $0.91 consensus and $1.22 billion in revenue, up 30% year over year.

Research analysts at Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a "buy" rating and a $55.00 price target on the pipeline company's stock. Truist Financial's target price indicates a potential upside of 17.28% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on WES. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.89.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of WES opened at $46.90 on Thursday. Western Midstream Partners has a 52 week low of $36.90 and a 52 week high of $50.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $47.65 and a 200-day moving average of $44.49.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 33.13% and a net margin of 29.44%.Western Midstream Partners's quarterly revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Western Midstream Partners

In other news, Director Frederick Forthuber purchased 5,140 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $48.62 per share, for a total transaction of $249,906.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $249,906.80. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 76.2% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 793 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 843.0% in the fourth quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 943 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 843 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 209.4% during the 2nd quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 1,835 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $132,000. 84.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Western Midstream Partners

Western Midstream Partners, L.P. NYSE: WES is a publicly traded master limited partnership that owns, operates and develops midstream energy assets. The company provides gathering, processing, treating, compression, transportation and storage services for natural gas, crude oil, natural gas liquids and produced water.

Western Midstream's infrastructure includes gathering systems, processing plants, pipelines, compressor stations, treatment facilities, storage assets and water-handling systems.

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