Jennison Associates LLC Reduces Position in Western Midstream Partners, LP $WES

Jennison Associates LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 374,918 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 20,798 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Western Midstream Partners were worth $14,809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WES. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the third quarter valued at approximately $300,257,000. Berkley W R Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,857,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,153,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 31.2% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,872,394 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $73,566,000 after purchasing an additional 445,663 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT increased its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 1,540,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $60,866,000 after purchasing an additional 270,000 shares during the last quarter. 84.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Western Midstream Partners

In related news, Director Robert G. Phillips bought 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $40.19 per share, for a total transaction of $50,237.50. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,846.24. This trade represents a 30.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christopher B. Dial sold 5,879 shares of Western Midstream Partners stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.35, for a total transaction of $248,975.65. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 185,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,835,215.85. This trade represents a 3.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Western Midstream Partners Trading Down 3.0%

WES opened at $42.20 on Friday. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a one year low of $35.25 and a one year high of $44.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.61 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $41.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The pipeline company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.44). Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 30.52% and a return on equity of 33.14%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This is a boost from Western Midstream Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.8%. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is 121.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on WES. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $44.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.71.

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.