Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC Buys 468,303 Shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES)

Key Points

• Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC significantly increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 90.5%, owning 985,718 shares which accounts for 9.9% of its investment portfolio.
• Western Midstream Partners recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, indicating a 9.6% yield with a payout ratio of 112.00%.
• Analysts have set a new average price target of $39.80 for Western Midstream Partners, with a consensus rating of "Hold" based on recent stock performance and earnings.

Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) by 90.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 985,718 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 468,303 shares during the period. Western Midstream Partners accounts for about 9.9% of Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC owned approximately 0.26% of Western Midstream Partners worth $40,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WES. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,485 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 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 during the period. CFM Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of 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 during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its position in Western Midstream Partners by 254.3% in the first quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 29,180 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,195,000 after purchasing an additional 20,943 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.82% of the company's stock.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WES traded up $0.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $38.78. The stock had a trading volume of 739,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,180,709. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 52 week low of $33.60 and a 52 week high of $43.33. The business's 50-day moving average price is $39.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.18. 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 has a market capitalization of $14.79 billion, a PE ratio of 11.94 and a beta of 1.13.

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 business had revenue of $942.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $954.17 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. Western Midstream Partners's revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.4%. Western Midstream Partners's payout ratio is 112.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Mizuho decreased their price target 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.