Short Interest in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) Grows By 22.8%

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,980,000 shares, an increase of 22.8% from the April 30th total of 4,870,000 shares. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,220,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WES shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Western Midstream Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Midstream Partners has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.83.

Institutional Trading of Western Midstream Partners

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WES. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its position in Western Midstream Partners by 133.3% in the first quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 700 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 1,856.4% in the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 763 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 555.6% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,180 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.82% of the company's stock.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

NYSE WES traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $37.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 850,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,231,786. Western Midstream Partners has a 1 year low of $33.60 and a 1 year high of $43.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The company has a market capitalization of $14.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.60, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.12. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $37.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.39.

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

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Western Midstream Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Western Midstream Partners's dividend payout ratio is 108.66%.

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.