Stephens Inc. AR Decreases Stake in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES)

Stephens Inc. AR trimmed its position in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,191 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,725 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Western Midstream Partners were worth $1,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 6,228,448 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $238,300,000 after buying an additional 1,184,597 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its position in Western Midstream Partners by 6,986.8% during the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 708,683 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $27,114,000 after buying an additional 698,683 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 60.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,785,105 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $68,298,000 after buying an additional 670,440 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV grew its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 81.0% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 746,587 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $28,564,000 after acquiring an additional 334,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Western Midstream Partners by 322.1% in the 3rd 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. 84.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Midstream Partners Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of WES opened at $39.95 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.09. The stock has a market cap of $15.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 2.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 1-year low of $27.89 and a 1-year high of $43.33.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.875 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.76%. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on WES. 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 research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a report on Monday, December 9th. US Capital Advisors raised Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Midstream Partners has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.