Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts rate Western Midstream Partners “Hold” overall: Six of nine analysts recommend holding the stock, while two rate it a buy and one a strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $47, below the reported $48.36 share price.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: Western Midstream reported $0.99 in earnings per share versus the $0.91 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 30% year over year to $1.22 billion.
• The partnership offers a high dividend yield: It declared a quarterly dividend of $0.93, or $3.72 annualized, producing a 7.7% yield. However, its payout ratio is elevated at 116.98%.

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the nine research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $47.00.

Several analysts recently issued reports on WES shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $46.00 target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Western Midstream Partners from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $51.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Western Midstream Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Frederick A. Forthuber purchased 5,140 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $48.62 per share, for a total transaction of $249,906.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $249,906.80. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 98.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,446,475 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $215,136,000 after acquiring an additional 2,696,439 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Western Midstream Partners by 106.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,005,252 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $118,707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,552,401 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 8,539,175 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $337,297,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,991 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,562,213 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $377,707,000 after purchasing an additional 936,376 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the fourth quarter worth about $28,268,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.82% of the company's stock.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

WES stock opened at $48.36 on Friday. Western Midstream Partners has a 52-week low of $36.90 and a 52-week high of $48.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34. The stock has a market cap of $19.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $45.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.31.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 34.79% and a net margin of 29.44%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.7%. Western Midstream Partners's payout ratio is presently 116.98%.

Western Midstream Partners Company Profile

Western Midstream Partners, LP NYSE: WES is a midstream energy infrastructure company that owns, operates and develops an integrated network of crude oil, natural gas and produced water gathering, processing, transportation and storage assets in the United States. The partnership's primary offerings include pipeline transportation, fractionation services, natural gas liquids (NGL) logistics and produced water handling. Through its fee-based and commodity-based contracts, Western Midstream provides its customers with essential services that support efficient energy production and distribution.

The company's asset portfolio spans key onshore basins, including the Delaware Basin in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, the San Juan Basin in New Mexico and Colorado, and the Denver-Julesburg Basin in Colorado.

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