Alps Advisors Inc. Purchases 734,870 Shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

Key Points

• Alps Advisors increased its Western Midstream Partners stake by 734,870 shares, or 2%, to 37.36 million shares, representing 9.04% of the partnership and about 7.3% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Western Midstream reported quarterly EPS of $0.78, below the $0.92 consensus, while revenue rose 25.4% year over year to $1.19 billion.
• The partnership declared a quarterly dividend of $0.93 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of 9.3%; analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $49.89.

Alps Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,364,470 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 734,870 shares during the quarter. Western Midstream Partners comprises about 7.3% of Alps Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Alps Advisors Inc. owned 9.04% of Western Midstream Partners worth $1,657,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Western Midstream Partners during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 924 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 209.4% during the second quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 1,835 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MADDEN SECURITIES Corp bought a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $89,000. 84.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Midstream Partners news, Director Frederick Forthuber purchased 5,140 shares of Western Midstream Partners stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $48.62 per share, with a total value of $249,906.80. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 5,140 shares in the company, valued at $249,906.80. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

WES stock opened at $39.84 on Friday. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a fifty-two week low of $37.75 and a fifty-two week high of $50.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The company has a market capitalization of $16.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.16.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.14). Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 33.13% and a net margin of 29.44%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. Western Midstream Partners's revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. Western Midstream Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho upped their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Western Midstream Partners in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Midstream Partners currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.