Wells Fargo & Company Raises Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Price Target to $35.00

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $34.00 to $35.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the pipeline company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective indicates a potential downside of 9.16% from the stock's previous close.

WES has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Raymond James restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Western Midstream Partners from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. 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 research note on Friday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.55.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

NYSE:WES traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $38.53. 1,025,520 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,265,182. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $35.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 2.82. Western Midstream Partners has a fifty-two week low of $25.04 and a fifty-two week high of $38.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The pipeline company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.62. Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 44.76% and a net margin of 42.50%. The company had revenue of $887.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $868.22 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Western Midstream Partners

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WES. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. American National Bank grew its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 34.5% during the 1st quarter. American National Bank now owns 1,190 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Retirement Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 40.2% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 1,591 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the period. 42.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.