LPL Financial LLC Increases Holdings in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC has increased its position in Western Midstream Partners by 14.0%, acquiring an additional 31,687 shares during the first quarter.
• Western Midstream Partners has recently reported earnings per share of $0.87, surpassing estimates, with an annualized dividend yield of 9.6%.
• Analysts have downgraded Western Midstream's target price from $45.00 to $44.00, while maintaining a current average rating of "Hold."

LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) by 14.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 258,794 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 31,687 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.07% of Western Midstream Partners worth $10,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WES. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,833 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 4,564 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 133.3% during the first quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 700 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 1.6% during the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,113 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,070,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Mizuho lowered their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Midstream Partners presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.80.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WES traded up $0.14 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $38.30. 493,792 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,177,039. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 52-week low of $33.60 and a 52-week high of $43.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $39.09 and a 200-day moving average of $39.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 1.13.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $942.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $954.17 million. Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 37.70% and a net margin of 34.45%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. Analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 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.