Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.91

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, January 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.91 per share by the pipeline company on Friday, February 13th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 2nd.

Western Midstream Partners has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 5 consecutive years. Western Midstream Partners has a payout ratio of 100.8% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities analysts expect Western Midstream Partners to earn $3.47 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $3.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 104.9%.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

NYSE:WES opened at $40.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.14. Western Midstream Partners has a twelve month low of $33.60 and a twelve month high of $43.11. The company has a market capitalization of $16.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 0.76.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.87. The company had revenue of $952.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $965.55 million. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 35.18% and a return on equity of 39.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Western Midstream Partners will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WES shares. Citigroup initiated coverage on Western Midstream Partners in a research report on Monday, October 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $43.00 price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.33.

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.