Comerica Bank Buys 39,590 Shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES)

Comerica Bank raised its position in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) by 357.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 50,666 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 39,590 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Western Midstream Partners were worth $1,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the 4th quarter worth $348,000. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 4,564 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,833 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 136,739 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $5,255,000 after buying an additional 13,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 624.5% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 785,096 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $30,171,000 after acquiring an additional 676,729 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.82% of the company's stock.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

NYSE:WES traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $39.38. The stock had a trading volume of 332,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,239,528. The stock has a market cap of $15.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 12-month low of $33.60 and a 12-month high of $43.33.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $917.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $926.55 million. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 42.99% and a return on equity of 46.02%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.47 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This is a positive change from Western Midstream Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.24%. Western Midstream Partners's dividend payout ratio is 108.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Western Midstream Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Midstream Partners currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $38.33.

About Western Midstream Partners

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.