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

Comerica Bank grew its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) by 357.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,666 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying 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 Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WES. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Western Midstream Partners by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,809,161 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $876,556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406,362 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in 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 during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 83.1% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,404,381 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $53,971,000 after acquiring an additional 637,266 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the 4th quarter valued at about $19,079,000. Finally, Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. raised its position in Western Midstream Partners by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 8,064,089 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $309,903,000 after purchasing an additional 159,016 shares in the last quarter. 84.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Midstream Partners Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of Western Midstream Partners stock traded up $1.13 on Tuesday, reaching $39.36. 1,051,340 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,243,021. The company has a market capitalization of $15.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.12. The firm's 50-day moving average is $38.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $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 52 week low of $33.60 and a 52 week high of $43.33.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 42.99% and a return on equity of 46.02%. The company had revenue of $917.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $926.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.47 EPS. Western Midstream Partners's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.25%. This is a positive change from Western Midstream Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Western Midstream Partners's dividend payout ratio is presently 108.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised Western Midstream Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.