Waverly Advisors LLC Sells 102,424 Shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

Key Points

• Waverly Advisors reduced its Western Midstream Partners stake by 28.8%, selling 102,424 shares and retaining 253,319 shares valued at approximately $10.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 84.82% of WES.
• Analysts maintain a largely neutral outlook, with a consensus “Hold” rating and average price target of $46.25. WES recently traded at $46.69, near its 52-week high of $48.63.
• Western Midstream exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.85 EPS and $1.12 billion in revenue. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.93 per share, representing an annualized yield of about 8.0%.

Waverly Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) by 28.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 253,319 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 102,424 shares during the quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC owned 0.06% of Western Midstream Partners worth $10,429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WES. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,525 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,878 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 999 shares in the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 23,029 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 39.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 25,003 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $968,000 after purchasing an additional 7,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the second quarter valued at about $2,172,000. 84.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. US Capital Advisors raised shares of Western Midstream Partners from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Western Midstream Partners from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $51.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.25.

Western Midstream Partners Trading Down 1.6%

WES opened at $46.69 on Tuesday. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 1-year low of $36.90 and a 1-year high of $48.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.26, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.75.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 29.98% and a return on equity of 33.89%. Western Midstream Partners's quarterly revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.0%. Western Midstream Partners's payout ratio is presently 121.57%.

Western Midstream Partners Profile

Western Midstream Partners, LP NYSE: WES is a midstream energy infrastructure company that owns, operates and develops an integrated network of crude oil, natural gas and produced water gathering, processing, transportation and storage assets in the United States. The partnership's primary offerings include pipeline transportation, fractionation services, natural gas liquids (NGL) logistics and produced water handling. Through its fee-based and commodity-based contracts, Western Midstream provides its customers with essential services that support efficient energy production and distribution.

The company's asset portfolio spans key onshore basins, including the Delaware Basin in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, the San Juan Basin in New Mexico and Colorado, and the Denver-Julesburg Basin in Colorado.

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