Raymond James Financial Inc. Raises Stake in Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners, LP by 2.7%, owning 509,737 shares valued at approximately $20.88 million.
• The company reported earnings of $0.87 per share for the quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.82, despite revenue falling short at $942.32 million.
• Western Midstream Partners announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91, resulting in an annualized yield of 9.5%, with a current dividend payout ratio of 112.00%.

Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 509,737 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,269 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.13% of Western Midstream Partners worth $20,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WES. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 26,483 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,085,000 after buying an additional 2,485 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 30.6% in the 1st quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 461,365 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $18,898,000 after buying an additional 108,021 shares in the last quarter. CFM Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 9,904 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Western Midstream Partners in the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its stake 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 buying an additional 20,943 shares in the last quarter. 84.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $39.60.

Western Midstream Partners Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of WES traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $39.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,274,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,441,604. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 1 year low of $33.60 and a 1 year high of $43.33. The firm has a market cap of $14.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 1.13. 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 stock's 50 day moving average is $39.15 and its 200 day moving average is $38.98.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.87 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $942.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $954.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.3%. 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.