Independent Financial Group LLC Purchases New Position in Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

Independent Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 31,729 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,306,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in Western Midstream Partners during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 76.2% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 793 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Glen Eagle Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 843.0% during the fourth quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 943 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 843 shares during the period. 84.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WES. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Western Midstream Partners from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $51.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.25.

Western Midstream Partners Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of WES opened at $46.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 1-year low of $36.90 and a 1-year high of $48.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $44.53 and a 200 day moving average of $42.48.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.11. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 29.98% and a return on equity of 33.89%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.57%.

Western Midstream Partners 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.