Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Sells 16,222 Shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC reduced its stake in Western Midstream Partners, LP by 23.4%, owning 53,144 shares valued at $2.18 million after selling 16,222 shares in the first quarter.
• Western Midstream Partners announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 9.5%, despite a dividend payout ratio of 112%.
• Mizuho downgraded the target price for Western Midstream Partners from $45.00 to $44.00, while the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" with a consensus target price of $39.80.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) by 23.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,144 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 16,222 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Western Midstream Partners were worth $2,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WES. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 10.4% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 26,483 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,085,000 after acquiring an additional 2,485 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 30.6% during the first quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 461,365 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $18,898,000 after acquiring an additional 108,021 shares in the last quarter. CFM Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 28.3% in the 1st quarter. CFM Wealth Partners LLC now owns 44,944 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,841,000 after acquiring an additional 9,904 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its position in Western Midstream Partners by 254.3% in the 1st quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 29,180 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,195,000 after purchasing an additional 20,943 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $39.80.

Western Midstream Partners Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:WES traded up $0.2950 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $38.5050. 892,499 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,449,051. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The business's 50 day moving average is $39.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.68 billion, a PE ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 1.13. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a one year low of $33.60 and a one year 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $942.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $954.17 million. Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 37.70% and a net margin of 34.45%.Western Midstream Partners's revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Western Midstream Partners's dividend payout ratio is currently 112.00%.

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.