Empirical Finance LLC Makes New $4.75 Million Investment in Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

Empirical Finance LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 122,699 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,748,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 1,856.4% during the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 763 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Western Midstream Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE WES opened at $39.05 on Wednesday. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 12-month low of $33.60 and a 12-month high of $43.33. The stock has a market cap of $15.93 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The company has a 50-day moving average of $38.45 and a 200 day moving average of $38.63.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 34.45% and a return on equity of 37.70%. The business had revenue of $952.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $965.55 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.3%. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is 107.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research note on Monday, October 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $43.00 target price on Western Midstream Partners in a report on Thursday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.00.

Western Midstream Partners 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.