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

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $38.43.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of WES traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $38.09. 202,466 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,249,173. Western Midstream Partners has a 52 week low of $33.60 and a 52 week high of $43.33. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.35. The company has a market cap of $14.52 billion, a PE ratio of 9.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 2.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is a positive change from Western Midstream Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Western Midstream Partners's dividend payout ratio is 90.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 33,824,487 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,385,451,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400,891 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Western Midstream Partners by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,809,161 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $876,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,406,362 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,273,186 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $279,509,000 after acquiring an additional 1,366,341 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 624.5% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 785,096 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $30,171,000 after purchasing an additional 676,729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Western Midstream Partners by 60.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,785,105 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $68,298,000 after purchasing an additional 670,440 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.82% of the company's stock.

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.