Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Sets New 1-Year High at $35.39

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $35.39 and last traded at $35.37, with a volume of 222116 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $35.14.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WES has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Bank of America lowered Western Midstream Partners from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. Citigroup cut Western Midstream Partners from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Midstream Partners currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $30.75.

Western Midstream Partners Trading Up 1.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $31.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 2.83.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $858.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $850.23 million. Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 33.58% and a net margin of 32.72%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 1st were issued a dividend of $0.575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 31st. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.47%. Western Midstream Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.46%.

Insider Activity at Western Midstream Partners

In other Western Midstream Partners news, Director Lisa A. Stewart bought 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $34.87 per share, with a total value of $87,175.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 30,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,071,555.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Kenneth F. Owen bought 7,000 shares of Western Midstream Partners stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $33.96 per share, for a total transaction of $237,720.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 32,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,111,510.80. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lisa A. Stewart purchased 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $34.87 per share, for a total transaction of $87,175.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 30,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,071,555.10. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WES. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 1.3% during the second quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 28,365 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $752,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. Retirement Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 52.4% in the second quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Bollard Group LLC grew its position in Western Midstream Partners by 3.3% in the second quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 12,115 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 1.6% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 26,363 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $725,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Alliance grew its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 12,848 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.94% of the company's stock.

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.