Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) Short Interest Update

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,480,000 shares, a decline of 25.1% from the February 28th total of 5,980,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,300,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

WES stock traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $40.94. The stock had a trading volume of 757,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,224,547. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.59. Western Midstream Partners has a fifty-two week low of $33.64 and a fifty-two week high of $43.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.61 billion, a PE ratio of 10.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 2.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.875 per share. This represents a $3.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.55%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is currently 86.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,809,161 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $876,556,000 after buying an additional 1,406,362 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,273,186 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $279,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366,341 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. boosted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 6,986.8% during the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 708,683 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $27,114,000 after purchasing an additional 698,683 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 624.5% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 785,096 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $30,171,000 after purchasing an additional 676,729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 60.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,785,105 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $68,298,000 after purchasing an additional 670,440 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WES has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.43.

Western Midstream Partners Company 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.