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

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Western Midstream Partners, LP by 32.4%, selling 898,143 shares and holding approximately 1,871,244 shares now valued at $76.6 million.
• Analysts have lowered the price target for Western Midstream Partners from $45.00 to $44.00, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.83.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, with a high dividend yield of 9.2%, although its dividend payout ratio is at 108.66%.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) by 32.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,871,244 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 898,143 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned 0.49% of Western Midstream Partners worth $76,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 133.3% during the 1st quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 700 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Western Midstream Partners in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in Western Midstream Partners in the first quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Finally, RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Western Midstream Partners by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.82% of the company's stock.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

NYSE WES traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $38.05. The company had a trading volume of 2,640,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,064,494. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.30. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 1-year low of $33.60 and a 1-year high of $43.33. The company has a market cap of $14.51 billion, a PE ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50 day moving average of $39.09 and a 200-day moving average of $39.28.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.87 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $942.32 million during 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. Western Midstream Partners's revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Western Midstream Partners's dividend payout ratio is presently 108.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Mizuho cut their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.83.

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.