D.A. Davidson & CO. Increases Holdings in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES)

D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) by 20.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,099 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,793 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Western Midstream Partners were worth $2,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WES. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,079,000. Banco Santander S.A. boosted its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 19,974 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 3,715 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter worth $231,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter worth $222,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 98,008 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $3,766,000 after purchasing an additional 3,409 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.82% of the company's stock.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WES traded down $0.03 during trading on Thursday, reaching $39.24. 593,836 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,222,524. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 52-week low of $33.60 and a 52-week high of $43.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The company has a 50-day moving average of $38.24 and a 200-day moving average of $39.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 1.08.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.04). Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 38.52%. The firm had revenue of $917.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $926.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.47 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.28%. This is a positive change from Western Midstream Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Western Midstream Partners's payout ratio is presently 108.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Mizuho cut their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Midstream Partners has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.83.

Western Midstream Partners Company Profile

Western Midstream Partners, LP, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a midstream energy company primarily in the United States. It is involved in gathering, compressing, treating, processing, and transporting natural gas; gathering, stabilizing, and transporting condensate, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and crude oil; and gathering and disposing produced water.