Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley cut Western Midstream Partners from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $42.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $36.75.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

NYSE:WES opened at $38.97 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $39.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.61. Western Midstream Partners has a 1-year low of $26.14 and a 1-year high of $42.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.98, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.87.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $905.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $904.94 million. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 44.01% and a return on equity of 47.19%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. Analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners will post 4.16 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $0.875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.98%. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total value of $697,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 165,681,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,923,116,413.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the first quarter worth about $29,000. American National Bank raised its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 34.5% during the 1st quarter. American National Bank now owns 1,190 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Group LLC lifted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 40.2% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 1,591 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the second quarter valued at approximately $78,000. 42.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.