Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Upgraded at Morgan Stanley

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) was upgraded by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $51.00 price objective on the pipeline company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target suggests a potential upside of 17.08% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on WES. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. US Capital Advisors raised Western Midstream Partners from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $46.00 price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.75.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Down 1.8%

WES stock opened at $43.56 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.68. Western Midstream Partners has a 52-week low of $36.90 and a 52-week high of $48.01. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.48.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 29.98% and a return on equity of 33.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Western Midstream Partners

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WES. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 76.2% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 793 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 84.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Midstream Partners Company Profile

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE: WES) is a midstream energy infrastructure company that owns, operates and develops an integrated network of crude oil, natural gas and produced water gathering, processing, transportation and storage assets in the United States. The partnership’s primary offerings include pipeline transportation, fractionation services, natural gas liquids (NGL) logistics and produced water handling. Through its fee-based and commodity-based contracts, Western Midstream provides its customers with essential services that support efficient energy production and distribution.

The company’s asset portfolio spans key onshore basins, including the Delaware Basin in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, the San Juan Basin in New Mexico and Colorado, and the Denver-Julesburg Basin in Colorado.