Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from Morgan Stanley

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) had its price objective trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $55.00 to $52.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Western Midstream Partners in a report on Thursday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 17th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.89.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE WES opened at $45.09 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. Western Midstream Partners has a 52 week low of $36.90 and a 52 week high of $50.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $46.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.74.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.08. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 29.44% and a return on equity of 33.13%. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 2nd will be paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Midstream Partners news, Director Frederick Forthuber bought 5,140 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $48.62 per share, for a total transaction of $249,906.80. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,906.80. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Midstream Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Western Midstream Partners during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Western Midstream Partners by 37.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 924 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the second quarter worth $41,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its position in Western Midstream Partners by 209.4% during the second quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 1,835 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the second quarter worth $132,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

Western Midstream Partners Company Profile

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.