Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $44.74 and traded as high as $45.63. Western Midstream Partners shares last traded at $45.3240, with a volume of 911,782 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WES has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Western Midstream Partners in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Western Midstream Partners in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.89.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $18.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 33.13% and a net margin of 29.44%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.98%.

Insider Activity at Western Midstream Partners

In other news, Director Frederick Forthuber purchased 5,140 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director directly owned 5,140 shares in the company, valued at $249,906.80. This represents a ? increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 76.2% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 793 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 843.0% during the 4th quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 943 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 209.4% during the second quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 1,835 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at $132,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

About Western Midstream Partners

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE: WES) is a publicly traded master limited partnership that owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure in the United States. The company provides services that connect oil and natural gas production with processing facilities, pipelines, storage systems and end markets.

Its operations include the gathering, processing, treating, transportation and storage of natural gas, natural gas liquids and crude oil. Western Midstream also provides gathering and disposal services for produced water, a byproduct of oil and gas production.