Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC Makes New $5.30 Million Investment in Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

Key Points

• Horizon Kinetics Asset Management opened a new position in Western Midstream Partners, buying 134,085 shares worth about $5.3 million in the fourth quarter.
• Western Midstream Partners reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $0.85 per share and revenue of $1.12 billion, both above analyst expectations. Revenue rose 22.5% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.93 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 8.5%, while analysts currently keep a consensus rating of Hold.

Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 134,085 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $5,296,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates bought a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 86.1% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 908 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. 84.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WES shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $41.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. US Capital Advisors raised shares of Western Midstream Partners from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Western Midstream Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Midstream Partners currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $44.75.

Western Midstream Partners Trading Down 1.8%

WES opened at $43.56 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $17.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.48. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a fifty-two week low of $36.90 and a fifty-two week high of $48.01.

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

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This is an increase from Western Midstream Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. Western Midstream Partners's dividend payout ratio is presently 121.57%.

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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