Brokerages Set Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) Price Target at $48.12

Shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $49.25.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WES. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

WES stock opened at $48.98 on Tuesday. Western Midstream Partners has a 1-year low of $36.90 and a 1-year high of $50.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. The firm has a market cap of $20.24 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $47.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.34.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 33.13% and a net margin of 29.44%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio is 116.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Frederick Forthuber purchased 5,140 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $48.62 per share, for a total transaction of $249,906.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $249,906.80. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 76.2% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 793 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Western Midstream Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC lifted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 843.0% during the 4th quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 943 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

About Western Midstream Partners

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

Western Midstream’s infrastructure includes gathering systems, processing plants, pipelines, compressor stations, treatment facilities, storage assets and water-handling systems.