Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) by 43.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,769,387 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 2,165,465 shares during the quarter. Western Midstream Partners accounts for 0.8% of Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned 0.73% of Western Midstream Partners worth $106,428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in Western Midstream Partners during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,085,000. Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 236.9% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 17,869 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $687,000 after purchasing an additional 12,565 shares in the last quarter. Penbrook Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the 4th quarter valued at about $246,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 41,901 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,610,000 after purchasing an additional 9,094 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.82% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WES has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho decreased their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Western Midstream Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.83.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

Western Midstream Partners stock traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $38.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 867,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,230,628. The firm has a market cap of $14.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.94, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $38.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a twelve month low of $33.60 and a twelve month high of $43.33.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.04). Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 42.99% and a return on equity of 46.02%. The company had revenue of $917.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $926.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.47 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.34%. This is a positive change from Western Midstream Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Western Midstream Partners's payout ratio is currently 108.66%.

Western Midstream Partners 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.