Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys New Stake in Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group initiated a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the fourth quarter, buying 138,109 shares valued at about $5.46 million.
• Western Midstream posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.85 beating estimates and revenue of $1.12 billion topping expectations; revenue also rose 22.5% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.93 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 8.0%, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a $43.25 target price.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 138,109 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $5,455,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WES. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the third quarter valued at $300,257,000. Berkley W R Corp purchased a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the third quarter valued at $34,857,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the third quarter valued at $32,153,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 31.2% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,872,394 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $73,566,000 after buying an additional 445,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT lifted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 1,540,900 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $60,866,000 after purchasing an additional 270,000 shares in the last quarter. 84.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

NYSE:WES opened at $46.25 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.11 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.07. 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 data 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. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 29.98% and a return on equity of 33.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.0%. This is a boost from Western Midstream Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Western Midstream Partners's dividend payout ratio is 121.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on WES. Stifel Nicolaus set a $46.00 price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup upped their price target 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. UBS Group upped 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 report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $43.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Midstream Partners

In other news, Director Robert G. Phillips acquired 1,250 shares of Western Midstream Partners stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $40.19 per share, for a total transaction of $50,237.50. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,296 shares of the company's stock, valued at $212,846.24. This trade represents a 30.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Western Midstream Partners Company 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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