Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Reaches New 52-Week High at $39.97

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $39.97 and last traded at $39.97, with a volume of 390 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.73.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WES has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Wolfe Research upgraded Western Midstream Partners from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com cut Western Midstream Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Midstream Partners presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.55.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Up 1.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $15.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 2.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $37.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The pipeline company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.62. The business had revenue of $887.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $868.22 million. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 42.50% and a return on equity of 44.76%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st were given a $0.875 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.69%. This is an increase from Western Midstream Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WES. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. American National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Retirement Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 40.2% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 1,591 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. acquired a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the 4th quarter worth $74,000. 42.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.