Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) Shares Will Pay Quarterly Dividend of $0.93

Key Points

• Western Midstream Partners declared a quarterly dividend of $0.93 per share, payable November 13 to shareholders of record November 2. The dividend implies an annualized payout of $3.72 and an 8.4% yield.
• The partnership has increased its dividend for five consecutive years, but its current 103% payout ratio exceeds earnings; analysts expect next year’s earnings to reduce the projected payout ratio to 94.2%.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $49.89, while the company’s latest quarterly results beat expectations on both earnings and revenue.

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, October 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share by the pipeline company on Friday, November 13th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd.

Western Midstream Partners has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.2% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 5 consecutive years. Western Midstream Partners has a payout ratio of 103.0% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Analysts expect Western Midstream Partners to earn $3.95 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 94.2%.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

NYSE:WES opened at $44.42 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.13. The company has a market cap of $18.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. Western Midstream Partners has a 52 week low of $36.90 and a 52 week high of $50.07.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 33.13% and a net margin of 29.44%. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Western Midstream Partners in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $49.89.

About Western Midstream Partners

Western Midstream Partners, L.P. NYSE: WES is a master limited partnership that owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure in the United States. The company provides gathering, processing, transportation, storage and treating services for natural gas, crude oil, natural gas liquids and produced water.

Western Midstream's assets include gathering systems, processing plants, pipelines, storage facilities and water-handling infrastructure. These facilities connect oil and gas producers with downstream markets and are generally supported by long-term commercial arrangements.

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