Sonora Investment Management Group LLC Purchases Shares of 5,000 Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES)

Sonora Investment Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WES. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its position in Western Midstream Partners by 133.3% in the first quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 700 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in Western Midstream Partners by 555.6% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,180 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

Western Midstream Partners Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of WES opened at $37.97 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.09. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a one year low of $33.60 and a one year high of $43.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $37.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.39.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $917.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $926.55 million. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 42.99% and a return on equity of 46.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $0.91 dividend. This is a positive change from Western Midstream Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is currently 108.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Midstream Partners currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.83.

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.