CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Acquires 270,000 Shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

Key Points

• CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) by 21.2%, buying 270,000 shares in Q4 to own 1,540,900 shares worth about $60.87M, making WES 3.5% of its portfolio and its 12th largest holding.
• Western Midstream missed Q results (EPS $0.47 vs. $0.91 expected; revenue $1.03B vs. $1.06B) but pays a high quarterly dividend of $0.91 (annualized yield ~9.0%) with a payout ratio of 121.33%.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed-to-neutral: the consensus rating is Hold with a $41.71 average price target after several modest price-target adjustments.

CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT grew its holdings in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) by 21.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,540,900 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 270,000 shares during the quarter. Western Midstream Partners makes up 3.5% of CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT owned 0.38% of Western Midstream Partners worth $60,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 34,774,726 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,366,299,000 after acquiring an additional 98,819 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,292,437 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $954,450,000 after acquiring an additional 81,183 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $300,257,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,872,394 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $73,566,000 after acquiring an additional 445,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fractal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Fractal Investments LLC now owns 1,577,806 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $62,323,000 after acquiring an additional 110,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WES has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Western Midstream Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.71.

Insider Activity at Western Midstream Partners

In other Western Midstream Partners news, SVP Christopher B. Dial sold 5,879 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.35, for a total transaction of $248,975.65. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 185,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,835,215.85. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert G. Phillips bought 1,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $40.19 per share, for a total transaction of $50,237.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,296 shares in the company, valued at $212,846.24. The trade was a 30.89% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE:WES opened at $40.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $15.95 billion, a PE ratio of 13.50 and a beta of 0.73. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a twelve month low of $35.25 and a twelve month high of $44.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The company's 50 day moving average is $41.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.14.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.44). The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.06 billion. Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 33.14% and a net margin of 30.52%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. Western Midstream Partners's payout ratio is currently 121.33%.

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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