ING Groep NV Takes $28.27 Million Position in Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

ING Groep NV bought a new stake in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 715,653 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,268,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 76.2% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 793 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 86.1% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 908 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. US Capital Advisors raised shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $46.00 target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.75.

Insider Transactions at Western Midstream Partners

In related news, Director Robert G. Phillips acquired 1,250 shares of Western Midstream Partners stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $40.19 per share, for a total transaction of $50,237.50. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $212,846.24. This represents a 30.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Western Midstream Partners Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of WES stock opened at $44.43 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $42.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34. The stock has a market cap of $17.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.68. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a twelve month low of $36.90 and a twelve month high of $48.01.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 29.98% and a return on equity of 33.89%. The company’s revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a $0.93 dividend. This is an increase from Western Midstream Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.4%. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is presently 121.57%.

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.