LPL Financial LLC Purchases 31,687 Shares of 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 boosted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) by 14.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 258,794 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 31,687 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.07% of Western Midstream Partners worth $10,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Western Midstream Partners in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV bought a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the 1st quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. 84.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of Western Midstream Partners stock traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $37.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,074,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,178,433. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.55 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 1-year low of $33.60 and a 1-year high of $43.33.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $954.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. Western Midstream Partners's revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. Western Midstream Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Midstream Partners has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $39.80.

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.