Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Sets New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Western Midstream Partners hit a new 52-week high of $48.55, reflecting strong recent trading momentum for the pipeline company.
• Recent earnings were better than expected, with EPS of $0.85 versus the $0.74 consensus and revenue of $1.12 billion, up 22.5% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.93 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 7.7%, while analysts currently have a consensus rating of Hold.

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $48.55 and last traded at $48.5470, with a volume of 81350 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WES has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, US Capital Advisors upgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.25.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $19.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.68. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $44.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.64.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.11. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 29.98% and a return on equity of 33.89%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.7%. Western Midstream Partners's dividend payout ratio is 121.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 35,074,357 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,385,437,000 after purchasing an additional 299,631 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,292,437 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $954,450,000 after buying an additional 81,183 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,562,213 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $377,707,000 after acquiring an additional 936,376 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. grew its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 8,539,175 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $337,297,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163,991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in Western Midstream Partners by 98.1% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,446,475 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $215,136,000 after acquiring an additional 2,696,439 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.82% of the company's stock.

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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