Western Midstream Partners' (WES) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Stifel Nicolaus

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed its “buy” rating on Western Midstream Partners and set a $55 price target, implying approximately 11.6% upside from the reported $49.29 share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $49.25; ratings include two Strong Buys, two Buys, and six Holds.
• Western Midstream exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.99 in earnings per share versus a $0.91 estimate and $1.22 billion in revenue, up 30% year over year. A company director also purchased 5,140 shares, while institutional investors own 84.82% of the stock.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $55.00 target price on the pipeline company's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price target would suggest a potential upside of 11.59% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on WES. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Western Midstream Partners from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.25.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WES opened at $49.29 on Thursday. Western Midstream Partners has a twelve month low of $36.90 and a twelve month high of $50.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.25. The company has a market capitalization of $20.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Midstream Partners news, Director Frederick Forthuber bought 5,140 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $48.62 per share, for a total transaction of $249,906.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 77.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,769 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 3,828 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 59.9% in the second quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,922 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 3,717 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Western Midstream Partners by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 71,977 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $3,150,000 after purchasing an additional 5,393 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Western Midstream Partners by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 98,294 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $4,301,000 after purchasing an additional 12,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the 2nd quarter worth $132,000. 84.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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