Empowered Funds LLC Increases Stake in Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) by 99.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 472,989 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 236,221 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Western Midstream Partners were worth $19,473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 30,784 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,218,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 45,995 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,817,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 8,540 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 15,453 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pasadena Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Pasadena Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,110 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

Shares of WES stock opened at $47.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.42, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $44.66 and a 200 day moving average of $42.80. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 52 week low of $36.90 and a 52 week high of $48.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.9%. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is currently 121.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WES shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $51.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $46.00 price target on Western Midstream Partners and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Midstream Partners currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.25.

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.