Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Stock Bumped Down to Hold by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday,Zacks reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on WES. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Western Midstream Partners in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Mizuho raised their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.89.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of WES stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $39.84. The stock had a trading volume of 1,803,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,306,471. Western Midstream Partners has a 12-month low of $37.75 and a 12-month high of $50.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $45.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 33.13% and a net margin of 29.44%. Western Midstream Partners’s quarterly revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Western Midstream Partners will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is currently 116.98%.

Insider Activity

In other Western Midstream Partners news, Director Frederick Forthuber acquired 5,140 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $48.62 per share, for a total transaction of $249,906.80. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $249,906.80. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 3.0% in the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 27,377 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,215,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 124.2% during the third quarter. First Trust Capital Management L.P. now owns 12,604 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 7,019 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 224,459 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $9,959,000 after purchasing an additional 8,208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 37,364,470 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,657,862,000 after purchasing an additional 734,870 shares during the last quarter. 84.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Midstream Partners Company Profile

Western Midstream Partners, L.P. (NYSE:WES) is a master limited partnership that owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure in the United States. The company provides gathering, processing, transportation, storage and treating services for natural gas, crude oil, natural gas liquids and produced water.

Western Midstream’s assets include gathering systems, processing plants, pipelines, storage facilities and water-handling infrastructure. These facilities connect oil and gas producers with downstream markets and are generally supported by long-term commercial arrangements.