Wolfe Research Upgrades Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) to "Peer Perform"

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Free Report) from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research report report published on Thursday, Marketbeat reports.

WES has been the subject of several other reports. Raymond James reissued a market perform rating on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered Western Midstream Partners from a buy rating to a neutral rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $30.75.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

WES traded up $0.22 during trading on Thursday, reaching $34.65. 691,144 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,261,423. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Western Midstream Partners has a 12-month low of $24.89 and a 12-month high of $36.79. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.04. The company has a market cap of $13.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 2.83.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.04). Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 32.72% and a return on equity of 33.58%. The company had revenue of $858.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $850.23 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $2.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.64%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 31st. Western Midstream Partners's dividend payout ratio is presently 88.46%.

Insider Transactions at Western Midstream Partners

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WES. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Western Midstream Partners during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC acquired a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Retirement Group LLC lifted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 52.4% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, American National Bank lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. 42.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.