Advisors Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Western Midstream Partners (WES) by 27.8% during the 1st quarter, now owning 134,076 shares valued at approximately $5.49 million.
• Western Midstream Partners recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, representing a 9.5% yield and an annualized dividend of $3.64.
• Analysts have varying ratings for WES, with a consensus price target of $39.60 and recent adjustments reflecting a mix of underweight and outperform ratings.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) by 27.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 134,076 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 29,192 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Western Midstream Partners were worth $5,492,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 1,856.4% during the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 763 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the 1st quarter worth about $72,000. 84.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

WES stock traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $38.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 216,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,174,348. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 12 month low of $33.60 and a 12 month high of $43.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.85.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 37.70% and a net margin of 34.45%.The company had revenue of $942.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $954.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. Western Midstream Partners's quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.02 EPS 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 issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Western Midstream Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.00%.

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.