Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Raises Position in Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs has increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 1.8%, acquiring an additional 149,833 shares, bringing its total ownership to 8,658,988 shares valued at approximately $354.67 million.
• Western Midstream Partners reported quarterly earnings of $0.87 per share, surpassing expectations, but its revenue of $942.32 million fell short of analysts' forecasts.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91, which translates to an annual yield of 9.6%, although its payout ratio stands at a concerning 112.00%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,658,988 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 149,833 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 2.27% of Western Midstream Partners worth $354,672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WES. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its position in Western Midstream Partners by 133.3% in the 1st quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 700 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Western Midstream Partners by 1,856.4% in the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 763 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Bessemer Group Inc. acquired a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV acquired a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the 1st quarter worth approximately $72,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.82% of the company's stock.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WES traded up $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $38.40. 963,135 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,078,934. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $39.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.81. The company has a market cap of $14.64 billion, a PE ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 12-month low of $33.60 and a 12-month high of $43.33.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.05. Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 37.70% and a net margin of 34.45%.The business had revenue of $942.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $954.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast 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 Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.5%. Western Midstream Partners's dividend payout ratio is presently 112.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $39.60.

About Western Midstream Partners

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.