JPMorgan Chase & Co. Begins Coverage on Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES)

Stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) in a research report issued on Tuesday. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $50.00 price target on the pipeline company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 12.36% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on WES. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.22.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Western Midstream Partners stock traded up $0.14 on Tuesday, reaching $44.50. 19,715 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,203,427. Western Midstream Partners has a 1-year low of $36.90 and a 1-year high of $50.07. The company has a market cap of $18.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $47.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.13.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 29.44% and a return on equity of 33.13%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Western Midstream Partners

In related news, Director Frederick Forthuber acquired 5,140 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $48.62 per share, for a total transaction of $249,906.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,906.80. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Novem Group lifted its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Novem Group now owns 16,825 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $747,000 after purchasing an additional 982 shares during the last quarter. Kercheville Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 34.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kercheville Advisors LLC now owns 29,600 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,313,000 after purchasing an additional 7,600 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 55.9% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,366 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 1,565 shares during the last quarter. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC increased its position in Western Midstream Partners by 4.0% during the third quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 179,385 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $7,959,000 after buying an additional 6,956 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

About Western Midstream Partners

Western Midstream Partners, L.P. (NYSE:WES) is a master limited partnership that owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure in the United States. The company provides gathering, processing, transportation, storage and treating services for natural gas, crude oil, natural gas liquids and produced water.

Western Midstream’s assets include gathering systems, processing plants, pipelines, storage facilities and water-handling infrastructure. These facilities connect oil and gas producers with downstream markets and are generally supported by long-term commercial arrangements.