Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Decreases Stake in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. trimmed its position in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) by 13.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 611,183 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 97,500 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned approximately 0.16% of Western Midstream Partners worth $23,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 42.1% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 108,367 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,146,000 after buying an additional 32,119 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 6.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 996,018 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $38,108,000 after purchasing an additional 60,603 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 322.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 406,587 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $15,556,000 after purchasing an additional 310,260 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 60.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,785,105 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $68,298,000 after purchasing an additional 670,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the third quarter worth about $2,654,000. 84.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

Shares of WES opened at $40.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 2.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 1 year low of $33.64 and a 1 year high of $43.33. The company’s fifty day moving average is $40.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.53.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.54%. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WES has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Midstream Partners presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.43.

Western Midstream Partners 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.