Alps Advisors Inc. Acquires 299,631 Shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

Key Points

• Alps Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 299,631 shares in the fourth quarter, bringing its total holding to 35.1 million shares. The position remains its largest, representing about 8.1% of Alps Advisors’ portfolio.
• Western Midstream reported stronger-than-expected results, with quarterly EPS of $0.85 versus the $0.74 consensus and revenue of $1.12 billion, up 22.5% year over year. Analysts now expect full-year EPS of 3.44.
• The company raised its dividend to $0.93 per share quarterly from $0.91, implying an annualized yield of 8.5%. Meanwhile, analysts’ sentiment remains cautious overall, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.75.

Alps Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,074,357 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 299,631 shares during the period. Western Midstream Partners comprises about 8.1% of Alps Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Alps Advisors Inc. owned 8.60% of Western Midstream Partners worth $1,385,437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kovack Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter valued at $851,000. Nuveen LLC raised its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 1,609.3% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 126,542 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $4,998,000 after buying an additional 119,139 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 236,768 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $9,352,000 after buying an additional 45,930 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. raised its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 45.7% in the fourth quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 8,375 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 2,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter valued at $5,296,000. 84.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Down 1.0%

WES opened at $43.81 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $43.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a one year low of $36.90 and a one year high of $48.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.68.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.11. Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 33.89% and a net margin of 29.98%.The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This is an increase from Western Midstream Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. Western Midstream Partners's dividend payout ratio is 121.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WES has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Western Midstream Partners from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $51.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. US Capital Advisors upgraded Western Midstream Partners from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.75.

Western Midstream Partners Profile

Western Midstream Partners, LP NYSE: WES is a midstream energy infrastructure company that owns, operates and develops an integrated network of crude oil, natural gas and produced water gathering, processing, transportation and storage assets in the United States. The partnership's primary offerings include pipeline transportation, fractionation services, natural gas liquids (NGL) logistics and produced water handling. Through its fee-based and commodity-based contracts, Western Midstream provides its customers with essential services that support efficient energy production and distribution.

The company's asset portfolio spans key onshore basins, including the Delaware Basin in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, the San Juan Basin in New Mexico and Colorado, and the Denver-Julesburg Basin in Colorado.

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