Insider Buying: Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Director Acquires $249,906.80 in Stock

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) Director Frederick Forthuber acquired 5,140 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $48.62 per share, for a total transaction of $249,906.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,906.80. This represents a ? increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE WES opened at $48.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $45.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.35. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 1 year low of $36.90 and a 1 year high of $49.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.08. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 29.44% and a return on equity of 33.13%. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.6%. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is 116.98%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 2nd quarter worth $132,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the 2nd quarter worth about $586,000. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC bought a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the second quarter valued at about $479,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in Western Midstream Partners by 2.6% during the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 74,339 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,253,000 after buying an additional 1,890 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 1.3% during the second quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 406,912 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $17,806,000 after buying an additional 5,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on WES. Citigroup increased their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised Western Midstream Partners from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $51.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $46.00 price target on Western Midstream Partners and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.00.

About Western Midstream Partners

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.