Brokerages Set Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) Price Target at $39.14

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" by the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $39.83.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WES shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Western Midstream Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th.

Western Midstream Partners Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:WES traded up $0.26 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $38.95. 867,081 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,232,536. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $38.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.37. The firm has a market cap of $14.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.12. Western Midstream Partners has a 12-month low of $33.60 and a 12-month high of $43.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.04). Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 46.02% and a net margin of 42.99%. The business had revenue of $917.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $926.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.47 earnings per share. Western Midstream Partners's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.34%. This is a positive change from Western Midstream Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Western Midstream Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 108.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WES. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 7.6% during the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 33,824,487 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,385,451,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400,891 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,417,770 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,000,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608,609 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,658,988 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $354,672,000 after purchasing an additional 149,833 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 8,064,089 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $309,903,000 after purchasing an additional 159,016 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,428,847 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $304,286,000 after buying an additional 155,661 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.82% of the company's stock.

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.