UBS Group Boosts Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Price Target to $39.00

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) had its price objective raised by UBS Group from $38.00 to $39.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on WES. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $42.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Western Midstream Partners from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $36.75.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:WES opened at $38.72 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $39.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.65. The company has a market capitalization of $14.73 billion, a PE ratio of 10.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. Western Midstream Partners has a 1-year low of $26.14 and a 1-year high of $42.80.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $905.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $904.94 million. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 44.01% and a return on equity of 47.19%. The company’s revenue was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Western Midstream Partners will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st were issued a $0.875 dividend. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.04%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 1st. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Midstream Partners

In other news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total value of $697,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 165,681,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,923,116,413.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WES. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the first quarter worth approximately $1,967,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,260,436 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $36,880,000 after acquiring an additional 89,444 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 4th quarter valued at $1,550,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 174.3% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 417,302 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $14,835,000 after acquiring an additional 265,143 shares during the period. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 1,418,703 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $50,435,000 after acquiring an additional 44,176 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.94% of the company’s stock.

Western Midstream Partners Company Profile

Western Midstream Partners, LP, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a midstream energy company primarily in the United States. It is involved in gathering, compressing, treating, processing, and transporting natural gas; gathering, stabilizing, and transporting condensate, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and crude oil; and gathering and disposing produced water.