Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Sets New 12-Month High at $37.62

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $37.62 and last traded at $37.05, with a volume of 613528 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WES shares. 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 report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Western Midstream Partners from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday. Wolfe Research upgraded Western Midstream Partners from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho upped their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Midstream Partners currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.09.

Western Midstream Partners Trading Up 2.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $35.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.00. The company has a market cap of $14.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 2.82.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The pipeline company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.62. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 42.50% and a return on equity of 44.76%. The firm had revenue of $887.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $868.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a $0.875 dividend. This is an increase from Western Midstream Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. Western Midstream Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NBW Capital LLC increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. NBW Capital LLC now owns 322,010 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $9,422,000 after acquiring an additional 64,370 shares during the last quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $1,521,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,571,428 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $124,480,000 after purchasing an additional 622,108 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 104.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 58,015 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,698,000 after buying an additional 29,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 97.2% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 311,920 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $8,494,000 after buying an additional 153,743 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.94% of the company's stock.

Western Midstream Partners Company 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.

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