Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

WES has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $43.00 price objective on Western Midstream Partners in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Western Midstream Partners in a research report on Monday, October 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.50.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Up 0.7%

WES stock opened at $39.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.43. Western Midstream Partners has a 52-week low of $33.60 and a 52-week high of $43.33. The company has a 50-day moving average of $38.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 107.69%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WES. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 86.1% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 908 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the second quarter worth $39,000. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the third quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the second quarter valued at about $43,000. 84.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Midstream Partners Company 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.