Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Shares Up 3.7% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) shot up 3.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $40.68 and last traded at $40.35. 1,290,748 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 8% from the average session volume of 1,406,820 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on WES shares. US Capital Advisors raised Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.43.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 2.88.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.875 dividend. This represents a $3.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.63%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WES. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 555.6% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,180 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Western Midstream Partners in the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 287.3% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,437 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

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.