First Trust Advisors LP Raises Stock Position in Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) by 39.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 902,585 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 253,474 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.23% of Western Midstream Partners worth $37,159,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 76.2% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 793 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Glen Eagle Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 843.0% in the fourth quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 943 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. 84.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE WES opened at $46.69 on Tuesday. 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, LP has a 1 year low of $36.90 and a 1 year high of $48.63. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $44.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.75. The firm has a market cap of $18.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.26, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.68.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.85 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 firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. Western Midstream Partners's revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Western Midstream Partners's dividend payout ratio is presently 121.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WES has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. US Capital Advisors raised shares of Western Midstream Partners from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.25.

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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