Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.93

Key Points

• Western Midstream declared a quarterly dividend of $0.93 per share, payable May 15 to holders of record on May 1, implying a yield of 9.2% and a 2.2% increase from the prior quarter.
• Dividend sustainability is a concern: the firm’s payout ratio is about 100.8% and analysts forecast next-year EPS of $3.31 versus a $3.64 annualized dividend, implying a future payout ratio near 110%.
• The company recently missed quarterly EPS expectations ($0.47 vs. $0.91 expected), and analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with a $41.71 price target.

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st will be given a dividend of 0.93 per share by the pipeline company on Friday, May 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 9.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 1st. This is a 2.2% increase from Western Midstream Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91.

Western Midstream Partners has increased its dividend by an average of 0.2%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 5 consecutive years. Western Midstream Partners has a payout ratio of 100.8% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Analysts expect Western Midstream Partners to earn $3.31 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $3.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 110.0%.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WES opened at $40.64 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $16.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.55 and a beta of 0.73. Western Midstream Partners has a 52-week low of $35.25 and a 52-week high of $44.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm's fifty day moving average is $41.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.16.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.44). The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.06 billion. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 30.52% and a return on equity of 33.14%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WES. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.71.

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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