Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Takes Position in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 3,120 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the second quarter valued at $516,000. Fractal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fractal Investments LLC now owns 1,465,706 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $56,078,000 after buying an additional 75,145 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 9,082.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 18,365 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $703,000 after buying an additional 18,165 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 30.2% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 103,883 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,127,000 after buying an additional 24,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT raised its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 10.1% during the third quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 1,315,472 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $50,330,000 after acquiring an additional 120,202 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.94% of the company’s stock.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

Shares of WES stock opened at $36.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The company has a market capitalization of $13.78 billion, a PE ratio of 9.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 2.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $38.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.54. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 12 month low of $26.81 and a 12 month high of $42.80.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $883.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.83 million. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 42.99% and a return on equity of 46.02%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. Analysts predict that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.875 per share. This represents a $3.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WES. Morgan Stanley lowered Western Midstream Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.13.

About Western Midstream Partners

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.