Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Sells 140,010 Shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES)

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY decreased its stake in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) by 8.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,427,187 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 140,010 shares during the quarter. Western Midstream Partners makes up about 1.9% of Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY owned approximately 0.37% of Western Midstream Partners worth $58,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 133.3% in 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 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 in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 555.6% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,180 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the first quarter worth approximately $72,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Western Midstream Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.83.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of WES traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $38.78. 609,411 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,229,089. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 52 week low of $33.60 and a 52 week high of $43.33. The company has a market cap of $14.79 billion, a PE ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.26.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.04). Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 38.52%. The business had revenue of $917.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $926.55 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.47 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.39%. This is an increase from Western Midstream Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Western Midstream Partners's payout ratio is currently 108.66%.

Western Midstream Partners 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.