BNP Paribas Financial Markets Purchases 443,950 Shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 42.1% in the fourth quarter, adding 443,950 shares to hold 1,499,691 shares worth about $59.2 million.
• Western Midstream also saw an insider purchase, with Director Robert G. Phillips buying 1,250 shares at $40.19 each, increasing his position by 30.89%.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and it raised its quarterly dividend to $0.93 per share, which implies an annualized yield of about 8.5%.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) by 42.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,499,691 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 443,950 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.37% of Western Midstream Partners worth $59,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 76.2% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 793 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates purchased a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 86.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 908 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Midstream Partners

In related news, Director Robert G. Phillips purchased 1,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $40.19 per share, for a total transaction of $50,237.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $212,846.24. This represents a 30.89% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WES shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Western Midstream Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $46.00 price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, US Capital Advisors upgraded Western Midstream Partners from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $44.75.

Western Midstream Partners Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Western Midstream Partners stock opened at $43.63 on Wednesday. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 52-week low of $36.90 and a 52-week high of $48.01. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $42.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.68. 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 (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.41 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This is a boost from Western Midstream Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. Western Midstream Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.57%.

About Western Midstream Partners

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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