Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Stock Crosses Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Western Midstream shares fell below their 200-day moving average, trading as low as $43.69 versus the $44.17 average and last changing hands at about $43.75.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but moderately positive: MarketBeat reports a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $49.89, compared with ratings ranging from Hold to Strong Buy.
• The company beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while announcing a $0.93 quarterly dividend—an annualized yield of about 8.5%; its reported payout ratio was 116.98%.

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $44.17 and traded as low as $43.69. Western Midstream Partners shares last traded at $43.7460, with a volume of 2,334,266 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WES shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Western Midstream Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, October 17th. Zacks Research upgraded Western Midstream Partners from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Western Midstream Partners in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Mizuho upped their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Western Midstream Partners in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Midstream Partners presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $49.89.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $46.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.17. The stock has a market cap of $18.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.75.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.13 billion. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 29.44% and a return on equity of 33.13%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. Western Midstream Partners's dividend payout ratio is 116.98%.

Insider Transactions at Western Midstream Partners

In other news, Director Frederick Forthuber purchased 5,140 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $48.62 per share, with a total value of $249,906.80. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 5,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $249,906.80. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 2.0% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 37,364,470 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,657,862,000 after purchasing an additional 734,870 shares during the last quarter. Arrow Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arrow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,418 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 69,470 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $3,082,000 after purchasing an additional 8,020 shares during the last quarter. Intrua Financial LLC boosted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 8,620 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC boosted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 13,274 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. 84.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Midstream Partners Company Profile

Western Midstream Partners, L.P. NYSE: WES is a master limited partnership that owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure in the United States. The company provides gathering, processing, transportation, storage and treating services for natural gas, crude oil, natural gas liquids and produced water.

Western Midstream's assets include gathering systems, processing plants, pipelines, storage facilities and water-handling infrastructure. These facilities connect oil and gas producers with downstream markets and are generally supported by long-term commercial arrangements.

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