Nuveen LLC Purchases New Shares in Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a new stake in Western Midstream Partners by purchasing 7,134 shares, valued at approximately $292,000, during the first quarter of the year.
• Several institutional investors, including Alps Advisors Inc. and Invesco Ltd., have also increased their stakes in Western Midstream Partners, highlighting strong institutional interest in the stock.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, representing an annualized yield of 9.6%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 112%.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,134 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Bessemer Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the first quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Finally, State of Wyoming grew its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 3,323 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 960 shares in the last quarter. 84.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Midstream Partners currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $39.60.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

WES stock traded up $0.06 on Thursday, hitting $38.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,223,660 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,068,616. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $39.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.83. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 1 year low of $33.60 and a 1 year high of $43.33. The stock has a market cap of $14.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08.

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

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend 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.