Sfmg LLC Takes $322,000 Position in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES)

Key Points

• Sfmg LLC has acquired a new position in Western Midstream Partners by purchasing 7,858 shares valued at approximately $322,000.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, with a yield of 9.1%, despite a payout ratio of 108.66%.
• Western Midstream Partners reported lower than expected quarterly earnings of $0.79 EPS, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83.

Sfmg LLC acquired a new position in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,858 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $322,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 33,824,487 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,385,451,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400,891 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,809,161 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $876,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,406,362 shares during the period. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. lifted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 2.0% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 159,016 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,273,186 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $279,509,000 after acquiring an additional 1,366,341 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Global Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,434,080 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $93,542,000 after acquiring an additional 458,111 shares during the period. 84.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.83.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WES traded down $0.39 during trading on Friday, hitting $38.05. 2,640,446 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,064,494. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The company has a market cap of $14.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $39.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.28. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $942.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $954.17 million. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 34.45% and a return on equity of 37.70%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Western Midstream Partners's payout ratio is presently 108.66%.

Western Midstream Partners Profile

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.