Clearbridge Investments LLC Grows Stock Position in Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,623,943 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 391,000 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.64% of Western Midstream Partners worth $103,646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 10,947 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 30,784 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,218,000 after buying an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 8,540 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 15,453 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $610,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Albert D Mason Inc. lifted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 33,912 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,340,000 after buying an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Western Midstream Partners

In other Western Midstream Partners news, Director Robert G. Phillips bought 1,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $40.19 per share, with a total value of $50,237.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,296 shares in the company, valued at $212,846.24. The trade was a 30.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

WES stock opened at $44.17 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34. The stock has a market cap of $17.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.69. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 52-week low of $36.90 and a 52-week high of $48.01.

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

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.4%. This is a positive change from Western Midstream Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. Western Midstream Partners's payout ratio is 121.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Western Midstream Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Citigroup lifted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $41.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $44.75.

Western Midstream Partners Company 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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