Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) Short Interest Down 16.2% in December

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,180,000 shares, a decrease of 16.2% from the November 30th total of 6,180,000 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,200,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Western Midstream Partners Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE WES traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $39.13. The company had a trading volume of 609,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,238,823. Western Midstream Partners has a 1-year low of $27.49 and a 1-year high of $42.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 2.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $38.51 and a 200 day moving average of $39.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.09). Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 46.02% and a net margin of 42.99%. The company had revenue of $883.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $0.875 dividend. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is 89.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 23.5% during the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 6,228,448 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $238,300,000 after buying an additional 1,184,597 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 60.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,785,105 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $68,298,000 after acquiring an additional 670,440 shares in the last quarter. Fractal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 75,145 shares during the last quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,397,140 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $53,455,000 after purchasing an additional 71,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT lifted its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 1,315,472 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $50,330,000 after purchasing an additional 120,202 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Western Midstream Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. US Capital Advisors raised Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Western Midstream Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.88.

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.